With every passing day, the number of cardiac patients are escalating globally. Mitral regurgitation is one of such serious heart ailments that take thousands of lives every year. As per expert reports, over 4 million patients are suffering from the disease counting the western countries only.
To treat this severe cardiac disorder, Paris-based medtech HighLife has developed path-breaking transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system. Now, the startup has just raised €32 million in a funding round to further develop its medical device.
Who are the investors?
The series B round of investment was led by US Venture Partners (USVP) and Andera Partners. Other participants involved in the round include Sectoral Asset Management and Sofinnova Partners. In 2017, HighLife accumulated €12,300,000 in series A funding.
Casey Tansey, General Partner at USVP, expressed, “HighLife’s creative approach has already generated convincing data in this competitive field of mitral valve replacement. I am confident that the experienced management team will bring this technology to the level where it becomes an undisputed treatment option for mitral valve regurgitation patients.”
Regarding the investment, Partner at Andera Partners, Olivier Litzka stated, “With our already solid experience in the structural heart field, we are very happy to contribute to and support HighLife. The exceptional level of collective experience brought together with the existing team and the new investors is a favorable omen for HighLife’s success.”
Mitral regurgitation (MR) – the condition
In this condition, with every heartbeat, blood flows back to the lungs instead of forward movement due to the anomaly of the mitral valve. As a consequence, the oxygenated blood flow to organs gets restricted.
The most common symptom is shortness of breath and lethargy. Further, if untreated it leads to congestive heart failure and death.
HighLife – a medtech to counter MR
HighLife will utilise the capital influx to complete the development of transcatheter mitral valve replacement program by obtaining the CE mark after regulatory approval trials in Europe and the primary clinical trial in the US.
Georg Börtlein, HighLife’s CEO and founder articulated, “I am very pleased to announce the closing of the Series B financing round, which is essential to funding the development program of the company. The funds will support our mid-term strategy with a pivotal trial in Europe and a clinical trial in the US. We remain committed to bringing the best treatment option for the broadest patient population to market. Over the long term, we want to address any limitation that the field of TMVR faces and we will continue working towards that goal.”
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Stock photos from Natali_Mis/Shutterstock
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