Startric, the developer of a next-generation transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) system for the treatment of tricuspid heart valve disease, has been named as the winner of the Shark Tank cardiovascular innovation competition at the 2026 TCT Plus Middle East conference (17–19 September, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia).
The company, based in Italy, is developing a transcatheter tricuspid valve repair system known as TriClover, combining a minimally invasive percutaneous procedure with the ‘Clover’ edge-to-edge surgical technique developed by Ottavio Alfieri and Michele De Bonis (both San Raffaele University Hospital, Milan, Italy).
Startric was one of four finalists in the contest, each competing for a US$200,000 innovation prize from sponsor Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH). Other finalists came from King Abdullah University for Science & Technology (Thuwal, Saudi Arabia), Mayo Clinic (Rochester, USA), and IDAHealth from Belgium.
StarTric’s Triclover was selected by judges for its potential to address a significant unmet need in the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation (TR), with the panel indicating that the device introduces a differentiated approach to tricuspid valve treatment, supported by clinical evidence and designed with the potential for practical, minimally invasive implementation.
“StarTric Triclover was selected for its potential to address a significant unmet need in the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation, a condition that can substantially affect patients’ symptoms, quality of life, and clinical outcomes,” Ali M Shehri, head of cardiology at JHAH and a member of the judging panel said of the winning entry. “The device introduces a differentiated approach to tricuspid valve treatment, supported by clinical evidence and designed with the potential for practical, minimally invasive implementation. Its feasibility, scalability, and commercial potential further strengthen its promise. Most importantly, StarTric Triclover has the potential to expand treatment options for patients who may have limited alternatives and to meaningfully improve patient care and quality of life.”
“This is an extraordinary endorsement for our TriClover therapeutic solution and the recognition of its potential to radically improve clinical practice and patient outcomes,” commented Daniele Zanotti, CEO of Startric, who presented the company’s solution to the competition judging panel and congress attendees at TCT Plus Middle East.
Given the huge challenges in bringing new therapeutic solutions from concept to bedside, Zanotti said that the recognition from the Shark Tank panel is welcome validation for the company’s efforts to date to develop the technology.
“Innovative medtech projects, by definition, navigate uncharted waters. There are unavoidable hurdles and difficult problems to solve on the pathway to patients, often requiring a change of tack. This recognition tells us that we are on the right course and provides us with renewed energy to overcome future obstacles and reach our goals.”
Zanotti said that the prize funding comes at a crucial time in the company’s developmental timeline, with fundraising currently ongoing in support of a first-in-human (FIH) clinical trial for TriClover and indicated that he hopes the prestige of winning the competition will help to attract additional sources of investment.
“This unplanned contribution, in itself, significantly reduces our current financial needs, allowing us to accelerate the whole project,” he said. “Even more importantly, it lends a great deal of confidence to current and future investors, contributing even further to accelerating the successful closure of the round. In other words, this financial support will have a ‘drag effect’, going well beyond the nominal value of the amount received.”
Attracting medtech innovation to the Middle East region was a stated aim of the TCT Plus Middle East organisers and competition sponsor JHAH, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s broader aim to foster greater innovation within its healthcare sector inside the decade, a part of its Vision 2030 economic plan.
Zanotti praised the focus on innovation at the congress and welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the organisers’ broader aim of opening up opportunities for engagement and bridge building across the region.
“In our view, the cardiovascular technology ecosystem lives on innovation. But innovation is not just about new technologies, applications and methods; it means looking with new eyes at all of the elements contributing to the ecosystem; it means reaching out to new people and to their ideas; it means opening up to new geographies and integrating inputs, people and resources otherwise left segregated and unproductive,” he commented. “We see TCT Plus Middle East doing just that, enriching the cardiovascular technology ecosystem with an incredible deal of new resources and ideas that put the patient at the centre of our action, irrespective of any other barrier.”
