According to a recent news item in the Boston Business Journal, heart pump maker Abiomed Inc. is planning a massive expansion thanks to recent FDA approvals, adding employees and space to increase its manufacturing.
The Danvers, Mass.-based firm plans to add 100 employees in the next two years; it currently has approximately 600 employees. The company will lease an additional 85,000 square feet of space in a building next to its Danvers headquarters, bringing total square footage to 160,000 square feet.
According to the Journal, management expects the expansion will cost more than $5 million over the next 5-10 years.
In March, Abiomed received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval for Impella 2.5 heart pump for elective and urgent high -isk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. Impella 2.5, which the company claims is the world's smallest heart pump, is the first hemodynamic support device to receive such a nod from the agency. About 100,000 patients suffering from cardiac problems in the United States are declared unfit for heart surgery due to extreme risks associated with the procedures. The Impella 2.5 pump changes care options for those patients.
Delivered through a catheter requiring only a small hole in the leg, the Impella RP is FDA indicated for providing circulatory assistance for up to 14 days in pediatric or adult patients who develop acute right heart failure or decompensation following left ventricular assist device implantation, myocardial infarction, heart transplant, or open-heart surgery. These patients lack blood flow from the right side of their hearts. The Impella RP is designed to provide the flow and pressure needed to compensate for right heart failure. The device does not require a surgical procedure for insertion, and it provides up to four liters per minute of hemodynamic support.
Abiomed brass expects already robust demand for Impella to increase substantially following the recent approval.