EDWARDS HEART VALVE PIONEER STARR RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS SCIENTIFIC HONOR

“Dr. Starr’s work was groundbreaking in enabling treatment for patients with heart valve disease and this prestigious recognition pays tribute to his significant career in advancing the practice of medicine,” said Michael A. Mussallem, Edwards' chairman and CEO. “As a young clinician, Starr’s recommendation to focus on the heart’s valves rather than the whole heart was a key decision, and led to the incredible partnership between clinicians and inventors that continues at Edwards today. Dr. Starr’s entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a strong work ethic, clinical knowledge and dedication to patients continues to inspire us all.”

In 1960, Starr performed the world's first successful artificial mitral valve implant in Oregon on a 52-year-old man with end-stage mitral valve disease. That same year, Miles Lowell Edwards incorporated Edwards Laboratories to manufacture and market the Starr-Edwards valve. The idea of replacing a heart valve was a novel concept, and it helped set the stage for the development of bioengineered tissue heart valves and more recent approaches to delivering bioengineered aortic valves through a catheter.

Dr. Starr serves as distinguished professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine and special adviser to the School’s dean and president. He is also chairman of the OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute, which aims to bring clinicians and researchers together to translate laboratory discoveries into new and better treatments for cardiovascular disease. In 2007, Dr. Starr received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, which honors the contributions of scientists, physicians, and public servants who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of human disease.

About Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences is the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring.  Driven by a passion to help patients, the company partners with clinicians to develop innovative technologies in the areas of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring, enabling them to save and enhance lives. Additional company information can be found at www.edwards.com. Edwards, Edwards Lifesciences and the stylized E logo are trademarks of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
One Edwards Way Irvine, CA USA 92614
Phone: 949.250.2500 Fax: 949.250.2525
www.edwards.com