Heartport
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
New CEO effective May 7 is Frank Fischer, who served as president and CEO of Ventritex between 1987 and 1997. Fischer replaces company co-founder Wesley Sterman, MD, who remains chairman of the board. In announcing Fischer's appointment, the company reports that it is streamlining operations by reducing its U.S. work force by about one-third, scaling back manufacturing capacity and cutting general and administrative expenses "in several areas." The company, which manufactures the Port-Access minimally invasive system for stopped-heart coronary artery bypass grafting procedures, will book a charge related to the restructuring. Heartport says it is expanding its sales force "by moving more clinical training specialists into the field to work directly with surgical teams at their hospitals"