There are still a few more sponsorship opportunities available for the 2010 EDCUtah Golf for Grants Tournament, which is set for June 2.

Our Tournament Title Sponsor is CB Richard Ellis. Please join us for one of the landmark benefit golf tournaments in the state. This year the Golf for Grants Tournament takes place at Eaglewood Golf Course with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

As always, the proceeds from the annual tournament fund the EDCUtah Community Match Grants Program. Since the program's inception in 1989, EDCUtah has awarded more than $651,560 to communities and organizations in all 29 of Utah's counties. For sponsorship details please call Arthur Franks, membership director for EDCUtah at (801) 323-4242.

Today's Economic Review also includes links to many of the ED-related news stories from the past week. As always, if you have comments, suggestions or topics you'd like to see in the Economic Review, please contact us by clicking the "Comments" link on the bottom of this page. Enjoy!

Jeff Edwards
President and CEO

In 1982, when the successful implantation of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart was attracting headlines across the globe, artificial organ and medical device research and development at the University of Utah led Science Digest to nickname Salt Lake City the "Bionic Valley"… "the epicenter of a bioengineering effort that promises to shake up the entire health-care system."

In reality, bioengineering and other life science-related efforts in the "Bionic Valley" have been shaking up the health-care system since the 1950s, says Utah Technology Council Life Science Executive in Residence Michael Feldman. In fact, Utah scientists and researchers have pioneered such devices as the world's first human artificial heart, the first functional prosthetic arm, the first successful heart pump implant, an artificial inner ear, artificial blood vessels, and the first disposable catheter.

One of the Most Sophisticated Devices Developed in Utah
Today, the approximately five million patients suffering from various stages of heart disease, including the 3,000 people waiting for heart transplants, can hope to live longer, healthier, more normal lives thanks in part to one of the most sophisticated medical devices ever to be developed in Utah -- the Levacor™ VAD (ventricular assisted device), which was conceived and developed in Utah by a founding team led by Pratap "PK" Khanwilkar, Ph.D. and is being commercialized by Utah-based WorldHeart Corporation.

On March 17, cardiothoracic surgeons at University of Utah Hospital successfully implanted the hockey puck-size Levacor VAD alongside the native heart of 44-year-old Douglas Wiley, of Kuna, Idaho. Wiley received the implant as part of a national clinical trial under way at the University of Utah Hospital, which is the second center in the country to implant the device into a patient. Three other patients received Levacor VAD implants at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City earlier this year.

PK says the Levacor VAD helps the weakened heart's left ventricle to pump enough blood; however, unlike other VADs, the Levacor VAD is unique because it uses a fully magnetically suspended rotor to help pump blood, allowing it to operate without bearings or other moving parts that wear out and can damage blood. Potentially, the Levacor could last years longer than other blood pumps.

Before his implant surgery, Wiley hardly had the energy to carry on a conversation. Now, he can't wait to spend time with his daughter and ride motorcycles. He fully expects to resume an active life while he waits for a heart transplant. "I'm still a little sore, but I feel better than I have in six years," he said during a press conference last week.

Another Success Story for Bionic Valley
The Levacor VAD is a fourth generation rotary blood pump that WorldHeart used to leapfrog its own first-generation pulsatile Novacor Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS), a pioneering device that was developed and commercialized earlier by a team led by Mr. Jal Jassawalla, WorldHeart's chief technology officer. Jal and others introduced Novacor in 1984 as the world's first bridge-to-transplant device. WorldHeart purchased MedQuest in 2005 for its fourth-generation blood pump technologies. MedQuest was founded in 1993 as a spin-off of the University of Utah by PK, Dr. Gill Bearnson, an electrical engineer, a biomedical scientist, and Dr. James Long, a cardiac surgeon. WorldHeart has been building its infrastructure in Utah since then.

EDCUtah President & CEO Jeff Edwards says he is not only thrilled for the success of the Levacor VAD and what it means for heart disease patients, but also for WorldHeart's decision in 2008 to permanently locate its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Utah.

"WorldHeart was actually a Canadian company that decided to move its operations to the United States. When it purchased MedQuest, it could have located its operations anywhere, including its existing headquarters in the Bay Area, but chose to move its headquarters to Utah because of the great team and infrastructure in place here," Edwards says.

Mr. J. Alex Martin, an implantable cardiovascular device industry veteran who joined WorldHeart as president & CEO in 2009 and is located at its Salt Lake City headquarters, explains that the medical device industry is primarily concentrated in three areas: The California coast, Minneapolis, and New England. A smattering of smaller concentrations exist, but Salt Lake City ranks "right under the top three," he says.

"Our decision to locate WorldHeart in Salt Lake City was assisted by the very concentrated critical mass and solid infrastructure here. That, plus the current economic realities and low cost of doing business make Utah very attractive," he adds.

Made for 'Destination Therapy'
Although the current clinical trial is evaluating the Levacor VAD as a bridge-to-transplant, the device is expected to be evaluated next as an alternative to heart transplant and may one day serve as a bridge to heart recovery, since the VAD could potentially take over for the failing heart long enough for the muscle to strengthen on its own or be strengthened through the help of drugs or other therapies. At that point, says Martin, the Levacor VAD could fill a greater role as "destination therapy" for the thousands of patients with heart disease that have been ruled out for heart transplants.

WorldHeart is also developing two miniaturized implantable pumps, each the size of an AA battery. The MIVAD™ will serve adults with earlier-stage heart failure who need long-term partial cardiac support, while the Pediaflow™ VAD will serve newborns and infants with congenital heart defects and other heart ailments that need cardiac support of up to six months.

"Our goal is to break the cycle of heart disease," says PK. "Eighty percent of the patients with class four heart diseases reverted back to classes one or two when they were implanted with a ventricular assisted device. It doesn't matter what caused the heart failure, our devices are designed to help."

Marriage of Technology Development and Regional Healthcare
Dr. Tami Goetz, state science advisor in the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED), sees the successful implantation of the Levacor VAD as an example of the "beautiful marriage of technology development and regional healthcare in Utah."

"Our medical device industry interfaces so well with our healthcare facilities – it's the perfect marriage of resources. It makes you realize how important it is for the state to continue to build out and develop this industry, not just for economic development, but for the real world impact it can have on patients, both in Utah and the intermountain region," she says. "People from Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and New Mexico drive to Utah facilities to access the talent and cutting-edge technology here. That's a pretty high profile role and responsibility for Utah!"

Martin heartily agrees with Goetz. "WorldHeart utilized lab resources at the University of Utah during the development and testing of the Levacor VAD. Furthermore, all of the clinical teams involved in implanting the Levacor VAD were trained at the University of Utah," he says.

Utah's Thriving Medical Device Industry
Along with WorldHeart, two other major medical device manufacturers recently chose Utah for relocation or expansion. In October, Edwards Lifesciences accepted an $11.5M incentive offer from the state of Utah to add more than 1,000 jobs and 200,000 feet of manufacturing and R&D space in a new, state-of-the-art facility, while Merit Medical, a Utah-headquartered manufacturer of disposable medical devices, announced it would expand its Utah operations and add more than 100 jobs here.

The state's medical device–related sector is home to 116 companies that manufacture such devices as MRI equipment, ultrasound equipment, pacemakers, hearing aids, ECGs, electromedical endoscopic equipment, laboratory equipment and furniture, and surgical instruments, appliances, and supplies. The medical device sector is comprised of the following seven branches:

Utah's medical device manufacturers are actually part of a growing life science industry that boasts more than 28,000 jobs. The Beehive State ranks first among the western states for life science businesses per capita and second for overall industry growth.

A variety of organizations are involved in supporting the infrastructure and growth of Utah's life science industry. They include the Governor's Office of Economic Development; the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR); the Utah Technology Council (UTC); and the state's three research universities: The University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Utah State University. The University of Utah is home to the only medical school in the intermountain west and also ranks first in the nation, tied with MIT, for the number of spin-off companies created through research each year.

Utah BIOVision
Feldman says his role at the UTC is focused on the growth and development of Utah's life science businesses.

"My purpose is twofold: First, to provide the resources and help facilitate the growth of the industry; and second, to help lead the development of a strategic plan for BIOVision in Utah, to help accelerate the growth of Utah's life science industry," he explains.

Feldman is working with life science leaders in the state, along with USTAR and the Department of Workforce Services, to set a strategy direction and action plan that will identify objectives and establish deliverables and timelines to help further grow Utah's life science companies and ecosystem.