CardioMEMS Recognized by Georgia Bio for Pivotal Strategic Partnership

ATLANTA, Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CardioMEMS, Inc., an Atlanta-based medical technology company that has developed and is commercializing a proprietary wireless sensing and communication technology for the human body, has earned a Georgia Bio (GaBio) 2011 Deal of the Year award.  CardioMEMs was recognized in the Strategic Partnership category for the $60 million equity investment it secured from St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ). The investment, which was made in September 2010, followed the successful completion in 2010 of CardioMEMS' CHAMPION clinical study of its wireless, implantable pressure monitor for heart failure.

Georgia Bio announced its 2011 Deal of the Year awards for medical device and biopharmaceutical companies at the GaBio Annual Awards Dinner held at Atlanta's Fox Theater on January 20. The annual awards recognize transactions by life sciences companies in Georgia that are significant to the state's industry development. To reflect a broad range of activity in the midst of a challenging economic environment, the awards are given in four categories:  public and private financings, strategic partnerships and product launches.

"We are proud to be recognized by Georgia Bio," said Jay Yadav, M.D., founder and CEO of CardioMEMS and an interventional cardiologist. "We have achieved our immediate goals with the successful conclusion of the CHAMPION trial.  As we work toward the commercialization of this promising technology, we are excited to partner with St. Jude Medical and its significant expertise and focus in heart failure disease and cardiac rhythm management."

The Champion™ wireless HF sensor is an innovative miniature device that is implanted into the patient's pulmonary artery using a simple, catheter-based procedure. The pulmonary artery pressure is then measured and displayed using the CardioMEMS proprietary electronic monitoring system. Following the procedure, patients perform wireless measurements of their pulmonary artery pressure from home. The pressure data is immediately transmitted to a secure database and is available for review by the implanting physician on the CardioMEMS proprietary website.

St. Jude Medical's $60 million investment provided the global medical device company a 19% ownership in CardioMEMS and an exclusive option to acquire the remaining 81% of CardioMEMS for an additional $375 million during a period that extends through the completion of certain commercialization milestones. In May 2010, CardioMEMS raised approximately $38 million in a financial investor round lead by John Huntz and the Atlanta office of Arcapita, a global investment company.  With the strategic investment by St. Jude Medical, CardioMEMS has raised over $98 million in 2010.

In addition to a Georgia Bio 2011 Deal of the Year award, the Southeastern Medical Device Association (SEMDA) awarded Dr. Yadav its 2010 SpotLight Award for outstanding achievement in fostering the growth of the medical device community in the Southeast, and TiE Atlanta recognized CardioMEMS with its 2010 Entrepreneurial Award for the Deal of the Year for securing the St. Jude Medical investment. Dr. Yadav also delivered the keynote speech recently for Southeast BIO's (SEBIO) 12th Annual Investor Forum where he shared his views on the challenges of building innovative medical device start-up companies to over 350 biotech and medical technology executives, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investment bankers from the Southeast.

About Georgia Bio

Georgia Bio is the private, non-profit association representing nearly 300 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, universities, research institutes, government groups and other organizations involved in the development of products that improve the health and well-being of people, animals and the environment. More information is located at www.gabio.org.

About CardioMEMS, Inc.

CardioMEMS is a medical device company that has developed and is commercializing proprietary wireless sensing and communication technology for the human body. The Company's technology platform is designed to improve the management of severe chronic cardiovascular diseases such as aneurysms, heart failure and hypertension. CardioMEMs miniature wireless sensors can be implanted using minimally-invasive techniques and transmit cardiac output, blood pressure and heart rate data which are critical to the management of patients. The sensors are designed to be permanently implanted into the heart and blood vessels due to their small size, durability and lack of wires and batteries. Using radiofrequency (RF) energy, the sensors transmit real-time data to external electronic readers, which then communicate this information to the patient's physician. The Company developed this technology based on the belief that frequent, on-demand, real-time monitoring of vital information enables proactive patient management, which holds the promise of reducing hospitalizations, improving a patient's quality of life and delivering more efficient and cost effective health care. More information about the CardioMEMs is located at www.cardiomems.com.

Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences or anticipated outcomes are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties such as risks associated with product development and commercialization efforts, expected timing or results of any clinical trials, ultimate clinical outcome and perceived or actual advantages of the Company's products, market and physician acceptance of the products, intellectual property protection, and competitive offerings could cause actual events to adversely differ from the expectations indicated in these forward looking statements.

CardioMEMS and the CardioMEMS logo are registered trademarks of CardioMEMS, Inc.

Champion is a trademark of CardioMEMS, Inc.

SOURCE CardioMEMS, Inc.

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