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C O M PA N Y P RO F I L EEdwards Lifesciences,an expert in matters of the heartEdwards Lifesciences is the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. Edwards wasestablished as an independent, publicly traded company in April 2000 and in June 2009 moved its European headquartersto Nyon, from where it intends to manage its businessdevelopment in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).Patrick Verguet, Corporate Vice President at EdwardsLifesciences, agreed to answer our questions.What is the history of Edwards Lifesciences?The history of the company began more than 50 years ago with anengineer named Miles Lowell Edwards. His dream was to manufacturean artificial heart, but a surgeon named Albert Starr persuaded himthat it was far too complicated and encouraged him to concentrateinstead on developing an artificial heart valve. That was how the Starr-Edwards mitral valve was born, which led to the company’s creation.This first valve was implanted in a man in 1960. Over the following years,the company continued to develop successfully, changed ownershipseveral times, and in 2000 the cardiovascular group spun-off from theparent company, Baxter International, to become Edwards Lifesciences.Our aim is to pursue Edwards’ original vision, which was to helppatients suffering from heart disease.What is the company’s main area of business?We have three main areas of business: heart valves/cardiac surgery,critical care and vascular therapy.The first two are right at the forefront of the company’s business and thehuge range of products we make includes tissue heart valves, valvereplacements and valve repair rings for major, so-called “classic” surgery,and devices to enable less invasive surgery. In the area of critical care,Edwards is the leading supplier of hemodynamic monitoring technologies.In the area of vascular therapy, we supply different types of catheters,especially those used to remove blood clots.Alongside our commercial activities, we attach great importance totraining the clinicians who are going to use our products, which iswhy we invest a large part of our income in this area. In fact, thebuilding in Nyon, where we have 125 employees, also houses a state-ofthe-arttraining centre.Edwards also develops market-leading technologies that innovatebeyond traditional medical device and procedural offerings. Takingthe example of the revolutionary transcatheter heart valve, which hasonly been on the market in Europe since the end of 2007, we have tobe able to rely on the doctors who were involved in developing theproduct to train other doctors on how to use it. We bring them to ourfacility in Nyon and provide the resources they need for these courses.We also have a laboratory where we train people how to use artificialprostheses. The practitioners are therefore guided by outside experttrainers who are familiar with the use of our technologies and whowork in hospitals and universities. What's more, they also supervisethe newly trained physicians during their first operations.© Edwards LifesciencesWhat are your prospects for the future?Between 2000 and 2009, our annual investments in R&D rose from$ 50 million to around $165 million. That represents more than 13%of our sales and is a major characteristic of Edwards as a company thatwe attach such importance to R&D.We have decided to continue developing in our familiar and tried andtrusted territory – heart valves. Our aim is to make further progress inheart surgery products that are used to repair and replace heart valves,and to work on techniques for making surgery less invasive andtraumatic for the patient.In the area of critical care, we have just obtained authorization for adevice that continually monitors glucose levels in hospital patients. Usinga catheter inserted in a vein, we can constantly measure this parameterthat can vary extremely quickly. This enables the medical staff tocorrect the glycaemia immediately by adjusting the concentrations ofinsulin or glucose and so stabilize the patient more effectively.What is your corporate philosophy?Our 6300 employees are proud to be working for a company thatdevelops products that save, protect and enhance people’s lives. We neverstop innovating in our quest to improve the treatment of cardiovasculardiseases and to supply the best products for the wellbeing of patients.Edwards Lifesciences SARte de l’Etraz 70 - CH-1260 Nyon / SwitzerlandTel.: +41 (0)22 787 4300Fax: +41 (0)22 787 4347Web site: www.edwards.com53Swiss Label CHUV 2010