InnovHeart, developer of novel transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) systems for the treatment of mitral valve disease, has announced the closing of its Series C financing and an exclusive licensing agreement to Grand Pharmaceutical Group for its proprietary Saturn device in Greater China. The transaction pulled in more than US$55 million in equity, upfront licensing fees, milestone payments and structured royalties, the company announced.
The Series C equity round was led by Grand Pharma, together with the existing investors Genextra, Panakes Partners and Indaco Venture Partners confirming their ongoing support by joining this investment round.
Under the license agreement, Grand Pharma is entitled to develop, manufacture and commercialise the Saturn device in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
“Interventional treatment for mitral regurgitation is considered to be one of the most challenging areas in the field of structural heart disease, yet also represents huge market potential, estimated to reach US$17.4 billion globally in future years. This strategic agreement will provide InnovHeart with resources that will accelerate the development of the trans-septal version of the Saturn system into first-in-human clinical trials, as well as access to the dynamic Chinese structural heart market,” said Keith D Dawkins, chairman of InnovHeart’s board of directors.
Commenting on this new collaboration, Shawn Chen, senior management of the Medical Device Division of Grand Pharma, said: “We are very excited about this collaboration. The successful closing of this transaction demonstrates that Grand Pharma has completed the strategic layout in our cerebro-cardiovascular high-end medical devices sector. InnovHeart’s Saturn technology is one of the most promising TMVR technologies in the market. I am confident that with InnovHeart’s expertise in this field and Grand Pharma’s strong capability and resources, we will bring this innovative clinical solution to Chinese patients soon.”
“InnovHeart has already demonstrated excellent mid-term (>one year) results with the transapical version. This low profile, adaptive valve design decreases the risk of LVOT obstruction and will be implanted transeptally in FIH in 2022,” said Paolo Denti, cardiac surgeon, San Raffaele University Hospital, Milan, Italy.
