Paragonix Technologies Appoints Medical Director

Paragonix Technologies Inc. has hired a medical director to develop a transport device for heart transplantation procedures.

David D’Alessandro, M.D., surgical director of Clinical Transplantation at Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation (Bronx, N.Y.) and Montefiore Medical Center faculty, is tasked with  developing the Paragonix Sherpa Perfusion Cardiac Transport System (CTS), a device that uses cold storage sollutions to store and transport hearts during transplantation procedures. The Sherpa Perfusion Cardiac Transport System is designed to safely store hearts for up to four hours.

D’Alessandro also will support clinical plans for the Paragonix Sherpa Pak Transporter Systems, used to store and transport organs during transplant surgeries.

“We are delighted to have Dr. D’Alessandro join the Paragonix team,” Paragonix Chairman/CEO William Edelman said. “His clinical experience as a cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon at premier institutions combined with his research interests will greatly contribute to pre-clinical and clinical programs at Paragonix.”

D’Alessandro’s clinical focus has been on surgical treatments of end stage heart failure including mechanical assistance and heart transplantation. He has broad experience with all aspects of adult cardiothoracic surgery including on and off pump coronary artery bypass surgery, valve repair and replacement, and the treatment thoracic aneurysms. Additionally, he has extensive experience with the latest generation of mechanical assist devices and is a co-investigator in their ongoing clinical trials. His preclinical research focuses on stem cell therapies for myocardial regeneration and his clinical research focuses on developing methods for improving clinical outcomes in cardiac surgery.

D’Alessandro received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency in general surgery, a fellowship in renal transplantation and a clinical and research fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, N.Y. Before joining the Montefiore Medical Center faculty, D’Alessandro was on the faculty of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, N.Y., where he served as a clinical instructor and an active participant in the heart transplantation and mechanical assist device programs. In addition to numerous publications and scientific presentations, D’Alessandro was awarded a U.S. patent for a novel cardiac stabilizer with a potential application to beating heart surgery.

“Given the tremendous shortage of donor organs, I believe new technologies are needed to improve transplant organ quality and utilization of available, donated organs,” D’Alessandro said in a news release. “The Paragonix Sherpa System is an innovative technology and I look forward to seeing it in the clinic. The Sherpa devices are an important advance in the field of organ preservation. Their simplicity and ease-of-use will allow rapid integration into clinical practice.”

Currently, the availability of organs for transplantation is governed by the “ischemic time,” which is the elapsed time from organ donation to recipient implantation. The Paragonix Sherpa is designed for use in conjunction with any of currently available organ preservation solutions. Paragonix Sherpa is fully disposable, eliminating problems associated with maintenance, device transport and contamination, the company claims.

Cardiac transplantation is considered the gold standard therapy for patients in end-stage heart failure. With more than 5.8 million Americans currently diagnosed with heart failure (HF), growing at an annual rate of 400,000 per year, there is a persistent need to provide end-stage heart failure support to this expanding population. Estimates of the prevalence of symptomatic HF in the general European population are similar to those in the United States, statistics show. The annual economic burden of treating heart failure exceeds $34.4 billion, more than 50 percent of which is due to the cost of hospitalization. As of June 1, 2012, 3,203 patients in the United States are on the waiting list for a heart transplant². Based on 2011 data, however, slightly more than 2,300 patients will receive a live-saving transplant each year. 

Headquartered in Braintree, Mass., and founded in 2010, Paragonix Technologies is a privately held medical device company developing a single-use organ preservation device. Paragonix has exclusively licensed University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio intellectual property from the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization.