Nov 7, 2001
Guidant and Merck KGaA Collaborate on Heart Failure Education

International Symposium Offers Unique Opportunity for Experts in Device Technology and Drug Therapy to Share Knowledge

Indianapolis, IN - A major international heart failure symposium co-sponsored by Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT) and Merck KGaA of Germany provided a unique opportunity for experts in device technology and drug therapy to share their knowledge in the fight against one of the most pressing public health problems in the world today-heart failure.

The symposium, which was held Oct. 26-27 in Lisbon, Portugal, featured 22 presentations by an internationally renowned faculty. Presentations and discussions focused on the physiology of heart failure, its burden on patients and society, and, most crucially, how to help patients feel better and live longer.

"Guidant was pleased to co-sponsor this important symposium with Merck," said Guido J. Neels, president of Guidant Europe. "Both companies have a long track record of innovation in cardiovascular medicine. Working together we will continue our efforts to serve the unmet needs of people struggling with heart failure."

Guidant and Merck KGaA's co-sponsorship of this symposium represents a collaborative effort to bring advancements in both drug and device-based therapies to physicians. By leveraging their broad expertise and distribution capabilities, Guidant and Merck KGaA are increasing awareness of new treatment options for heart failure. The symposium provided a unique opportunity for physician specialists, including electrophysiologists, cardiologists and general practitioners, to share information and experiences related to the treatment of heart failure. These physicians are then better equipped to provide additional treatment options to their patients and to train other physicians.

More than 300 specialists gathered to discuss advancements in the treatment of heart failure - a condition that is becoming increasingly more prevalent. Nearly one million new cases of heart failure are diagnosed annually worldwide, making it the most rapidly growing cardiovascular disorder. An estimated five million people in the U.S., 6.5 million people in Europe, and 2.4 million people in Japan currently suffer from heart failure. Three-quarters of all patients hospitalized for the first time with heart failure will die within five years; a survival rate far worse than cancer.

In recent years, however, medical research has offered new hope to heart failure patients. The introduction of beta-blockers as part of standard treatment for heart failure represents an advancement in medicine, as they had been contra-indicated for this condition in the past. However, in the last three years, three major mortality trials (one of them being the Cardiac Insufficiency Bisoprolol Study (CIBIS II), performed with Merck's ß1-selective ß-blocker bisoprolol) have established that the use of beta-blockers has helped cut heart failure deaths by a third when added to standard therapy with ACE inhibitors and diuretics. European guidelines now state that beta-blockers are indicated for the treatment of all patients with stable, mild, moderate or severe heart failure.

Meanwhile, a major new therapeutic option currently available in Europe - cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) - is being investigated in the U.S. and can potentially improve quality of life for selected patients. In 20to 40 percent of heart failure patients, electrical conduction delays in the ventricles cause the contraction of the heart chambers to become desynchronized, making the heart even less efficient in pumping blood. Implantable CRT devices market approved in Europe and developed by Guidant, such as the CONTAK(tm) TR or CONTAK RENEWAL(tm) systems, are designed to stimulate both ventricles of the heart electrically to restore synchrony.

In addition, nearly half the deaths of people with heart failure are associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD), which is the abrupt loss of heart function usually due to a potentially fatal electrical rhythm dysfunction in the heart called ventricular fibrillation. In the U.S. alone, sudden cardiac death claims more lives than lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined. Each year sudden cardiac death claims the lives of as many as 400,000 people - over 1,000 people per day. Sudden cardiac death is severely under diagnosed. To prevent SCD as a result of ventricular fibrillation, CONTAK RENEWAL incorporates Guidant's proven defibrillator therapy. Guidant's CONTAK CD (under investigation in the U.S. to demonstrate the potential benefits of CRT) and CONTAK RENEWAL (approved in Europe) combine defibrillator therapy with CRT so that heart failure patients may gain the benefit of protection from ventricular fibrillation.

According to heart failure specialist Günter Breithardt (Munster, Germany), a symposium co-chair, "though much remains to be done, significant progress is being made in both drugs and devices for heart failure - one of the most important threats to health in the industrialized countries today." Breithardt added "the effects of beta-blockers and CRT may even prove synergistic, as the pacing provided by CRT may permit more patients to receive beta-blockers."

Guidant Corporation pioneers lifesaving technology, giving an opportunity for better life today to 7 million cardiac and vascular patients worldwide. The company, driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture of 10,000 employees, develops, manufactures and markets a broad array of products and services that enable less invasive care for some of life's most threatening medical conditions.

Headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, the Merck Group generated sales of EUR 6,7 billion in 2000 in the fields of Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Chemicals, Lab Products and Lab Distribution. Founded in 1668, the Merck Group is represented today by more than 200 companies in 52 countries and employs 34,300 people worldwide. The company groups its operating activities under Merck KGaA, in which E. Merck, as a general partner, holds the Merck family's 74 percent equity interest in Merck KGaA. The Merck Group strongly believes that promotion of its employees' self-initiative and self-responsibility, application-oriented research and development and close customer relationships in the markets are the keys to long-term corporate success.