Terumo : Life-Saving Device Brings Eighth Queen’s Award

May 2, 2016

A Renfrewshire company behind a truly innovative medical device which has helped to save the lives of more than 1,400 patients around the world has been honoured for its pioneering work.

Vascutek has received the Queen's Award for Innovation following the development of Thoraflex™ Hybrid, a surgical graft used to treat thoracic aortic disease, which affects the aorta, the largest artery in the body.
The device, which is manufactured in Scotland, removes the need for a second major operation to treat the condition. It also significantly reduces the number of deaths after surgery, from 18 per cent to seven per cent.
The award marks the latest success for Inchinnan-based Vascutek, which has now received eight Queen's Awards in the company's 34 year history.

Commenting on this success, Paul Holbrook, President and CEO of Vascutek, said: 'We are honoured to have been recognised for the development of Thoraflex™ Hybrid.
'This unique device has helped save the lives of more than 1,400 people around the world who have been diagnosed with arterial disease.
'The success of Thoraflex™ Hybrid is wide-reaching with patients, surgeons and hospitals among those to benefit from the availability of this pioneering device to treat thoracic aortic disease.'

Claiming the lives of over 3,000 people in the UK each year, thoracic aortic disease is serious and can often be life-threatening when the aorta bulges, bursts or tears.
Treatment of the condition with Thoraflex™ Hybrid reduces surgery time compared with previous methods, significantly lowering the risk of stroke, brain damage or paralysis.
The lack of a second operation also offers financial benefits, saving hospital providers an estimated £26,000 per procedure.

Development of Thoraflex™ Hybrid, a collaboration with Hannover Medical School in Germany, has led to the creation of 21 jobs at Vascutek. The device is exported to 29 countries, with another ten expected to follow in the next two years.

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious accolades for businesses and individuals in the United Kingdom and recognise outstanding achievements by UK businesses in the fields of innovation, international trade or sustainable development.

Further information about Vascutek is available by logging on to: http://www.vascutek.com Details on the Queen's Awards are available by logging on to:http://www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise/overview

(Notice) Among the information that Terumo discloses, the forward-looking statements including financial projections are based upon our assumptions using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. Accordingly, it should be noted that actual results may differ from those forecasts on projections due to various factors. Factors affecting to actual results include, but are not limited to, changes in economic conditions surrounding Terumo, fluctuations of foreign exchange rates, and state of competition. The market share information in this press release is partly derived from our own independent research.