TUCSON, Ariz., July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Picard Medical, Inc. (NYSE:PMI) ("Picard Medical" or the "Company"), parent company of SynCardia Systems, LLC ("SynCardia"), maker of the world's first and only total artificial heart approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and Health Canada, today announced the publication of an independent commentary in Artificial Organs examining the Company's next-generation Emperor platform, which combines the Emperor Drive with the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart ("STAH"), and its role in the continued evolution of mechanical heart replacement technology.

The article, titled "A New Chapter in the Quest for a Fully Implantable Artificial Heart", was authored by Aakash M. Shah, M.D., an integrated cardiothoracic surgery resident at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) and lead editor of the News section of Artificial Organs. The commentary reviews the history of total artificial heart development and highlights the Company's recent preclinical studies of what the publication refers to as the "Emperor TAH" as another milestone in the pursuit of a fully implantable artificial heart.

The commentary discusses the latest series of acute large-animal implant studies evaluating the Company's next-generation Emperor platform. As previously announced by the Company, three implant procedures were completed successfully, with the device providing stable full circulatory support, demonstrating physiologic autoregulatory behavior, and experiencing no device-related intraoperative failures. The article also highlights the Emperor platform's independent dual-motor architecture, which enables independent control of the systemic and pulmonary circulations. The article explains how the design achieves a higher fidelity to closely replicate physiologic cardiac function while eliminating the need for an external pneumatic driver.

"The independent commentary published in Artificial Organs places the Emperor platform within the broader context of the decades-long effort to develop a practical, fully implantable artificial heart," said Richard Fang, Ph.D., Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Picard Medical. "While significant work remains, we believe the successful acute implant studies represent an encouraging preclinical milestone. We remain focused on the engineering, preclinical, and regulatory work necessary to advance the Emperor platform toward human clinical evaluation."

The commentary also reviews SynCardia's more than two decades of clinical experience in total artificial heart therapy, noting that the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart remains the only commercially available total artificial heart approved in both the United States and Canada. Within the Company's development program, this next-generation platform consists of the Emperor Drive, a electromechanical drive system under development, integrated with the STAH. Together, the platform is designed to provide independent control of the systemic and pulmonary circulations while building upon the proven pumping principles established through the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart.

The article concludes that continued advances in total artificial heart technology have the potential to expand future treatment options for patients with advanced biventricular heart failure who may not receive a donor heart, due to health conditions rendering the patient ineligible or a lack of supply. As stated by the publication, the article is intended as a news update for the journal's readership and does not constitute an endorsement of the Company.

Article Reference

Shah AM. A New Chapter in the Quest for a Fully Implantable Artificial Heart. Artificial Organs. 2026. doi:10.1111/aor.70182.

Read the article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aor.70182

About Picard Medical and SynCardia

Picard Medical, Inc. is the parent company of SynCardia Systems, LLC ("SynCardia"), the Tucson, Arizona–based leader with the only commercially available total artificial heart technology for patients with end-stage heart failure. SynCardia develops, manufactures, and commercializes the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart ("STAH"), an implantable system that assumes the full functions of a failing or failed human heart. It is the first artificial heart approved by both the FDA and Health Canada, and it remains the only commercially available artificial heart in the United States and Canada. With more than 2,100 implants performed at hospitals across 27 countries, the STAH is the most widely used and extensively studied artificial heart in the world. For additional information about Picard Medical, please visit www.picardmedical.com or review the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") at www.sec.gov.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "remain," "target," "will," "advance," "expand," and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words.

These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s financial condition, future operating results, commercialization activities, expectations for growth, expanding utilization of the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, expanding patient access at transplant centers, supporting clinical partners, advancing development of the Emperor Total Artificial Heart and other next-generation technologies, regulatory submissions and approvals, manufacturing and supply chain initiatives, capital raising activities, strengthening the Company’s commercial and financial position, strategic initiatives, leadership transitions, and other statements that are not historical facts.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the Company’s ability to obtain additional financing, maintain compliance with applicable stock exchange listing requirements, achieve commercial adoption of its products, obtain regulatory approvals, execute manufacturing and supply chain initiatives, successfully develop next-generation technologies, manage market conditions, and other risks described in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Additional information about the Company, including risk factors that may affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations, is contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available free of charge at www.sec.gov and on the Company’s investor relations website at www.picardmedical.com.

Contact:

Investors

Eric Ribner

Managing Director

LifeSci Advisors LLC

eric@lifesciadvisors.com

Picard Medical, Inc./SynCardia Systems, LLC

IR@picardmedical.com

General/Media

Brittany Lanza

blanza@syncardia.com