HeartMate Developer XinQing Medical Secures Nearly RMB 500 Million Series C Funding to Advance Multi-Organ Critical Care Life Support Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that recently, Suzhou magAssist Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "magAssist") completed a Series C financing round of nearly RMB 500 million. The round was led by Sequoia China, with co-investment from CDH VGC ("CDH Innovation and Growth Fund") and Qianji Capital. The proceeds will be primarily allocated to the R&D, clinical trials, and production expansion of multiple existing and new product lines.

magAssist was founded in May 2017 in the Suzhou New District, with subsidiaries and branch offices established across multiple cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Wuhan. Starting from the field of heart failure, magAssist is committed to building a life support platform for multiple organ failure. Its historical institutional shareholders include Guoqian Venture Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, Mifang Capital, Taiyu Investment, Huatai Healthcare Fund, and SND Venture Capital, among others.

The heart failure market represents a once-in-a-decade opportunity, emerging as the next hundred-billion-yuan blue-ocean market following coronary stents (2000–2010) and interventional valves (2010–2020). According to ReportLinker, the global heart failure therapeutic device market is projected to reach $14 billion by 2025. While the United States currently dominates the heart failure sector, no imported products have yet entered the Chinese market. Consequently, China's heart failure market remains a blue ocean, presenting tremendous opportunities for domestic enterprises.

Heart failure is the severe and end-stage manifestation of various cardiovascular diseases and represents one of the most critical diseases of the 21st century. Characterized by high prevalence, high mortality, and high readmission rates, it has become a major public health issue that severely impacts the health of China's population.

In 2019, the global number of heart failure patients reached 29.7 million, and is projected to reach 38.7 million by 2030. The latest results from China's epidemiological survey on heart failure indicate that there are approximately 13.7 million patients, representing an increase of nearly 5 million compared to the 2000 survey.

The primary reason for hospitalization in these patients is acute decompensation of chronic heart failure. As the disease progresses, pharmacological therapy becomes ineffective. Existing treatments in China for acute and critical organ failure fail to achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes, with a patient mortality rate exceeding 60%. At this stage, mechanical circulatory support (artificial heart) must be employed to assist systemic blood perfusion and maintain the normal function of vital organs.

Based on deployment methods, artificial hearts can be classified into extracorporeal, interventional, and implantable types. Extracorporeal and interventional artificial hearts serve as bridge therapy for patients with advanced acute heart failure, enabling them to survive the acute critical phase and allowing for device removal upon recovery. They can also provide circulatory support during high-risk cardiac surgeries, significantly improving surgical success rates and patient survival rates. Implantable artificial hearts are indicated for end-stage patients who face difficulties in obtaining a donor heart for transplantation, providing long-term replacement of native cardiac function.

Beyond the pressing clinical demand and vast market potential, the complex clinical scenarios of heart failure: including varying flow rate requirements, differing tolerances for surgical trauma, diverse support durations, and the potential for secondary organ failure, among others, all pose exceptionally high demands and significant challenges to the research, development, and manufacturing technologies of heart failure therapeutic devices, represented by artificial hearts.However, timely intervention with artificial hearts can halt the progression of heart failure, save lives at critical moments, and provide irreplaceable clinical benefits.Against the backdrop of the long-standing monopoly of high-end medical devices in China by imported products, the localization of acute and critical life support equipment is not only the last line of defense for saving lives, but also a vital national strategic asset.

Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD), with a market capitalization of nearly 100 billion RMB, owns the Impella product platform, currently the only FDA-approved percutaneous artificial heart globally. The Impella does not require surgical implantation and can deliver short-term circulatory support via a catheter-based approach. As a pioneer in percutaneous mechanical circulatory support, Abiomed has continuously driven technological innovations in pump miniaturization and implemented a comprehensive strategic layout for emergency life support across all clinical scenarios to fully address the needs of patients with acute circulatory failure. In 2014, the acquisition of ECP reduced the catheter size to 9F—shrinking from the thickness of a pencil to that of a pencil lead—making it the world's smallest artificial heart and significantly enhancing the overall performance, safety, and clinical efficacy of the percutaneous pump. In 2020, the acquisition of the Breethe OXY-1 ECMO product line addressed the needs of patients suffering from concurrent circulatory and respiratory failure. Through its relentless pursuit of excellence in percutaneous artificial heart technology and its comprehensive strategic deployment in emergency life support, Abiomed has successfully paved its path to a market capitalization of nearly 100 billion RMB.magAssist is currently the only company in China whose product pipeline benchmarks against Abiomed's latest-generation Impella ECP, ECMO, and other devices. Keeping pace with international advancements, it is strategically establishing a comprehensive layout to cover the demand matrix for acute and critically ill patients.

In clinical practice, there is no single product in the field of circulatory support for heart failure that meets all patient needs.Based on the required circulatory flow rate and duration of support, clinical practice involves selecting different types of artificial hearts tailored to each patient's overall condition and clinical needs, providing comprehensive therapeutic solutions that encompass interventional, extracorporeal, and implantable artificial hearts. When patients present with concomitant failure of other organs, it is also necessary to concurrently utilize other extracorporeal life support (ECLS) devices, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and artificial kidneys.

Therefore, distinct from the "single-product" and "single-pipeline" business expansion logic, magAssist is characterized by a "broad-platform" and "multi-pipeline" model. Building on its accumulated technological expertise, the company independently develops multiple product lines, aiming to create the most valuable high-end medical devices that address the actual clinical needs in China and are best suited for the Chinese population.

Currently, magAssist has officially unveiled four major product lines:

- Interventional Artificial Heart: Designed for the prevention and treatment of short-term circulatory failure risks during procedures such as high-risk PCI. Its ultra-compact delivery profile ensures minimal invasiveness, a reduced risk of bleeding, and improved postoperative wound recovery. Requiring no surgical incision, it can be rapidly deployed in the catheterization laboratory to provide circulatory support for patients.

- Extracorporeal Artificial Heart: Designed to address the short- to medium-term circulatory support needs of heart failure patients, it features low hemolysis, high flow capacity, and compatibility with other organ support systems. Eliminating the need for open-chest surgery, it provides parallel circulatory assistance solely via cannulation, buying critical time to bridge patients to recovery, transplantation, or other therapeutic interventions.

- Next-Generation Portable ECMO: A highly portable ECMO system has been developed for patients with concurrent respiratory failure or requiring emergency transport, optimized for frontline clinical settings and patient transfer.

- Ex Vivo Heart Warm Blood Transport Platform: Establishes physiological transport conditions mimicking the in vivo environment for donor hearts intended for transplantation. Compared to traditional cold ischemic transport using ice, it provides perfusion and oxygenation support to the donor heart's coronary system, thereby improving donor heart quality and extending the transport distance.

In the future, to meet the diverse needs of critically ill patients, magAssist will continue to develop multi-organ support products, providing clinicians with a platform-based solution that serves as "a single toolbox for managing all patient care needs, major and minor."

Speed is King: The First Extracorporeal Magnetic Levitation Artificial Heart Independently Developed in China Has Been Successfully Applied in Multiple Patients

In just about three years, magAssist developed its first Class III active medical device with high technical barriers from scratch and advanced it to clinical trials, becoming the fastest-growing company with the most comprehensive product portfolio in the heart failure sector.Its outstanding data was presented at the recently concluded International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support (ISMCS), earning recognition from international experts. Currently, the extracorporeal artificial heart has entered clinical application and has been successfully used in multiple patients. The interventional artificial heart and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) are in the preclinical stage. Innovation serves as the foundation and inherent DNA of magAssist’s development. magAssist will ensure that at least one major, high-barrier project is initiated for R&D annually, while simultaneously advancing at least one high-barrier Class III medical device product to clinical trials each year.

Such rapid progress would not have been possible without the team’s strong execution capabilities and accumulated technical expertise. magAssist brings together top-tier artificial organ technology experts from both domestic and international markets, alongside leading clinical institutions in China. Dr. Boling Xu, Founder and CEO, possesses nearly 16 years of R&D experience in artificial hearts. He is a Young Expert under China’s National Major Talent Program and a Distinguished Professor at Soochow University. Additionally, he is the first Chinese Board Member of the International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support (ISMCS), a prestigious organization in the artificial heart field with a history of nearly 30 years. The technical expert team includes the head of the Cardiovascular Engineering Institute at RWTH Aachen University, the designer of the BiVACOR magnetically levitated total artificial heart, and power electronics and motor design specialists from the University of Cambridge, among others. Together, they have comprehensively mastered a full suite of systematic technologies, including magnetic levitation, computational fluid dynamics, and mechatronics.

To ensure its products effectively address unmet clinical needs in China, magAssist initiated joint R&D at an early stage across all product lines in collaboration with leading domestic experts in cardiac surgery, cardiology, and critical care medicine, including Academician Ge Junbo’s team from the Department of Cardiology at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital and Professor Dong Nianguo’s team from the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Wuhan Union Hospital. These efforts aim to precisely develop clinical products urgently needed by Chinese patients and to scientifically and effectively advance the clinical trials and applications of each product line.

Dr. Xu Boling, CEO of magAssist, stated: "The heart failure sector is increasingly drawing attention from the investment community. As a young and innovative company, magAssist is deeply honored to gain recognition from premier investment institutions. This round of financing would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our existing shareholders. Guided by the philosophy of building an elite team, we leverage our extensive industry expertise to collaborate closely with top-tier expert teams both domestically and internationally. Together, we are committed to saving more lives that should not be lost, striving relentlessly to expedite the market launch of our products for clinical application. Furthermore, we remain steadfast in our long-term product pipeline strategy and the steady accumulation and breakthrough of innovative technologies. Only through such dedication can we continuously deliver better and more valuable products to a broad population of patients with acute and critical conditions."

As the lead investor in this round, Yang Yunxia, Partner at Sequoia Capital China, stated: “Heart failure is a severe, life-threatening disease that currently lacks highly effective treatment options. MagAssist’s founding mission is to provide heart failure patients with the most effective life support system, extending their lives as much as possible while improving their quality of life. In the mere four years since its establishment, the magAssist team has achieved remarkable results. Taking heart failure as a starting point, the company is progressively building a multi-organ, multi-system life support platform. Sequoia China is honored to partner with the magAssist team to deliver better solutions for patients in this critical disease area.”

Gao Jieliang, Partner at CDH VGC, stated: “Heart failure is the severe and end-stage manifestation of various cardiac diseases, characterized by a large patient population and urgent unmet clinical needs. magAssist’s artificial heart product effectively supports circulatory perfusion to improve systemic organ function, delivering significant clinical benefits to patients and holding immense social and market value. Artificial heart technology spans multiple interdisciplinary fields and entails exceptionally high technical barriers. The magAssist team possesses profound technical expertise and strong execution capabilities. CDH is highly optimistic about the heart failure sector and places great confidence in the magAssist team. We will continue to support the company’s development and create social value.”

Wu Hai, Partner at Qianji Capital, stated: "Qianji Capital has long been committed to identifying leading innovative technologies both domestically and internationally, with a focus on addressing unmet clinical needs across various scenarios. The mid-to-short-term extracorporeal life support platform for acute and critical care developed by magAssist can be widely applied to the treatment of critically ill perioperative patients. The R&D progress and innovation of its product portfolio are at the forefront both in China and globally, bringing hope of survival to critically ill patients in China who previously lacked clinical solutions. Moreover, we are deeply impressed by the rigorous and innovative spirit of the multidisciplinary collaborative team led by Founder Xu Boling. We hope to accompany magAssist over the long term as it grows into a globally leading extracorporeal life support platform, thereby better serving critically ill patients in China and worldwide."