FineHeart, a clinical stage medical device company based in Bordeaux, France, has announced it has raised $40.9 million in funding. This significant capital infusion will support the continued development and commercialization efforts for its innovative product, FLOWMAKER®, designed to treat advanced heart failure.
FLOWMAKER® is the first fully intraventricular, wireless flow accelerator that provides physiological support synchronized with the heart's natural contractions. It respects natural blood flow and does not require aortic bypass surgery. This miniaturized device, barely 10 cm in size, is adjustable to patients' needs like a pacemaker and is recharged via a wireless transcutaneous energy transfer system. It is implanted using a minimally invasive beating-heart procedure. The device has the potential to treat 200,000 patients with advanced heart failure each year, initially targeting the 50,000 most severe patients within a market segment estimated to be worth over US$5 billion.
FineHeart was founded by CEO Arnaud Mascarell and a team of internationally renowned cardiac surgeons and electro-physiologists, including Dr. Stephane Garrigue, CSO and inventor of the concept, and Dr. Philippe Ritter, co-inventor of cardiac resynchronization therapy. The company holds an international portfolio of 147 patents across 25 different families. FineHeart benefits from the support of a diverse group of public, private, industrial, and independent investors, including French groups Lauak and Doliam, FineHeart Founders, and investment funds such as Aquiti, Broadview Ventures, Galia, Irdi, M Capital, NACO, UI Investment, and Verve Ventures. Further financing has come from the European Union (EIC), Bpifrance, and the Nouvelle Aquitaine and RĂ©gion Centre regions.
The newly secured capital will be directed towards advancing FineHeart's clinical development and scaling its operations. FineHeart plans to use the funds for growth initiatives, further developing FLOWMAKER® and expanding its market reach. This investment positions FineHeart to progress its mission of addressing advanced heart failure and establishing FLOWMAKER® as a significant treatment option in the cardiovascular medical device market.
