CoreHeart Medical Secures Nearly RMB 200 Million in Series C+ Funding to Propel 'China-Made Heart' Globally

Recently, Shenzhen Core Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("Core Medical"), a global leader in "artificial heart" technology, has secured nearly 200 million yuan in C+ round financing. This round was led by FountainVest Partners with follow-up investments from Greenwoods Investment. This comes just over three months after Core Medical completed its C round of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan in December 2022, further bolstering its capital position.

As of nowThe world's only company simultaneously developing both implantable and interventional artificial heart productsLed by a top-tier team of experts with over a decade of industry experience, Core Medical has been driven by innovation, quality, and value since its inception, dedicating itself to providing comprehensive mechanical circulatory support solutions for more than 60 million heart failure patients worldwide.

Core Medical's independently developed next-generation ultra-small fully magnetically levitated artificial heart—Corheart 6—is currently the world’s smallest and lightest implantable left ventricular assist device, and it is a "Chinese heart" with pure Chinese origins from research and development to production. From January to October 2022, Corheart 6 completed clinical enrollment and patient follow-up for 50 patients, with excellent follow-up results. The results showed that patients' cardiac function significantly improved three months after the surgery.

Beijing Fuwai Hospital, as the clinical PI unit, evaluated this clinical trial and pointed out that the clinical performance of Corheart 6 was inspiring:

"Throughout the trial process, there were no device-related adverse events such as repeat surgeries, re-hospitalizations, hemolysis, severe infections, respiratory failure, pericardial effusion, myocardial infarction, hypertension, or non-CNS arterial thromboembolism. During the entire follow-up period, no abnormal coagulation or hemolysis occurred, further confirming the excellent blood compatibility of Corheart 6."

The New Generation of Ultra-Small Fully Magnetically Levitated "Artificial Heart" Corheart 6

It is reported that, compared with similar products currently available in the market, Core Medical's Corheart 6 has significant advantages in the following multiple aspects:

1. Technology·Leading Industry Development：Miniaturized, portable, excellent blood compatibility, leading the global development of implantable artificial heart technology

2. Process · Self-developed & Localization:The core processes of the industrial chain are completely self-developed in China, with controllable costs.

3. Clinical·Lowest Industry Adverse Event Rate:From the current clinical trial results, there have been no adverse events such as percutaneous cable infection, stroke, hemolysis, gastrointestinal bleeding, or thrombosis within the pump. The incidence of common adverse events associated with left ventricular assist devices, such as arrhythmia and right heart failure, is also lower than the industry level.

Heart failure, as the final battleground of cardiovascular diseases, cannot be addressed by a single product to meet the various needs of different patients. In response to the actual clinical needs of over 10 million heart failure patients in China, Core Medical has simultaneously established a multi-product pipeline in the field of interventional artificial hearts (pVAD, percutaneous ventricular assist devices). This provides comprehensive treatment solutions for high-risk clinical patients with different flow requirements and varying support time needs, addressing mid- to short-term circulatory failure.

The key to the interventional artificial heart safeguarding patients lies in a 4-5 millimeter motor-driven impeller implanted in the body, which rotates more than 40,000 times per minute to provide sufficient circulatory flow support for the patient. One of the challenges in developing the interventional artificial heart is how to maintain the stable operation of this impeller through hundreds of millions, billions, or even tens of billions of rotations. This places higher demands on the design of the micro-motor, drive, and sealing technologies of the product.

Core Medical's interventional artificial heart product, based on core technologies such as self-designed micro motors, highly reliable bearing design, and software control, has achieved stable operation for over 60 days and billions of cycles. The product's reliability and safety have been fully verified. Particularly in terms of blood compatibility,Hemolysis Index MIH Reduced by 70% Compared to International Benchmark Products, causing less damage to blood, and the product performance has significant advantages.

It is reported that the pVAD series of products from Core Medical have completed multiple animal experiments and are about to initiate clinical trials. With the team's strong execution capabilities and technical accumulation, the company’s product pipeline has continuously achieved breakthroughs and expansions, also providing a solid foundation of confidence for capital to keep investing in Core Medical.

Zhang Taihao, Vice President of Lead Investor FountainVest PartnersSaid: "With the increase in life expectancy, the heart, as the engine of the human body, faces irreversible 'power attenuation.' In the past decade, the number of Chinese patients with heart failure has had an annual compound growth rate of 31.54%, and the cost of treatment has had an annual compound growth rate of 36.86%. AsChina's first full magnetic levitation technology ventricular assist product to complete NMPA registrational clinical trialsProved that Core Medical's axial magnetic suspension bearing technology has better biocompatibility and lower power consumption compared to traditional magnetic-liquid suspension technology. It also solves the size issue of traditional magnetic suspension, achieving the world’s smallest form factor and improving quality of life. VCBeat believes that the trend of aging, combined with advancements in ventricular assist device (VAD) technology, marks the arrival of the turning point to replace traditional organ transplantation. We believe that Core Medical, as the only company in China with the capability to develop both long-term and short-term ventricular assist device (LVAD and PVAD) product lines, will use the power of innovation to make the world a better place.

Lin Ran, Director of Jinglin InvestmentSaid: "Almost all cardiovascular diseases will eventually lead to the occurrence of heart failure. Heart failure not only seriously affects the quality of life of patients but also has an extremely high mortality rate. As a product that assists the heart in pumping blood and saves patients' lives, artificial hearts are an absolute clinical necessity, but the difficulty in product development is extremely high. Currently, the artificial heart industry is still in its infancy. The implantable and interventional artificial heart products independently developed by Core Medical can meet the clinical needs of patients at different stages, in different scenarios, and with different requirements, providing significant benefits to patients. VCBeat investment is very optimistic about the heart failure sector and highly recognizesDr. YuAnd its core teamIn promoting the development of the artificial heart industry,The investment party will continue to support the company's development, creating greater social value and market value."

Dr. Shunzhou Yu, Founder and CEO of Core MedicalStated: "We are delighted to receive investors' support and recognition for Core Medical. This round of financing will accelerate the research and development of the company’s pipeline products and advance their commercialization. Core Medical has always been committed to benefiting heart failure patients worldwide as its mission.The Era of Artificial Heart Treatment for Heart Failure in China Has Arrived"We are confident and also responsible for bringing the most cutting-edge technologies and products worldwide to benefit more patients. Rooted in clinical needs and driven by innovation, we adhere to the fundamental principle of prioritizing quality. We will continuously optimize product design, making every effort to help heart failure patients alleviate suffering and improve their quality of life, bringing them 'new' hope and truly achieving a 'rebirth.'"

Zhengxin Valley always adheres to the investment values of "long-term, focus, and altruism," and is committed to building China's most outstanding investment research team and post-investment management team, covering three major fields: technology manufacturing, healthcare, and technology consumption. Through in-depth industry research and active post-investment empowerment, it partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to jointly create great enterprises that represent the future growth direction of China's economy and create value for society.

Since its establishment in 2015, Zhenxin Capital has invested in a group of outstanding enterprises representing the future direction of China's economic development, including Supcon Technology, Rigol Technologies, Bayi Space, Phoenix Holdings, O-Net Technologies, Unisoc, Junshi Biosciences, Akeso Biopharma, InnoCare Pharma, Hycan Biotech, CARsgen Therapeutics, Henlius Biotech, Bilibili, ByteDance, Pop Mart, NetEase Cloud Music, Jiang Xiaobai, and more than 70 other top-tier companies.

Founded in 2004, Greenwoods Asset Management is one of the earliest and largest private equity fund managers in China. Greenwoods manages over 100 billion RMB in assets across both primary and secondary markets, regulated by the securities regulatory authorities in China, Hong Kong, and the United States. In the field of private equity investment, Greenwoods has been conducting equity investments using its own capital since 2006. Currently, it manages more than 15 billion RMB, including several USD funds offshore and RMB funds onshore. It has invested in nearly 120 companies, including Shein, Yihai International, BabyKing, Bilibili, Dianping, Didi, Dada Group, New Oriental Online, and Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, with dozens of companies already listed domestically and internationally. Greenwoods’ institutional investors come from around the world, including well-known sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and family offices.