CardioMech Secures $5 Million Funding to Advance Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair Device

On August 13, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that medical device company CardioMech had completed a $5 million financing round (the specific round was not disclosed), with MedTech as the investor.

Following the completion of this funding round, CardioMech will accelerate the development of its cardiac therapy technologies. To date, CardioMech has raised a total of $7.5 million.

Headquartered in Norway, CardioMech is led by President and CEO Rick Nehm and Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Dr. Jacob Bergsland, dedicated to providing innovative therapeutic solutions for the treatment of heart disease. The company is developing a transcatheter mitral valve repair device designed to treat patients with mitral regurgitation caused by prolapse or flail leaflets. In 2014, CardioMech researcher Nikolai Hiorth received the Young Investigator Award at the Shanghai International Medical Innovation and Technology Conference in China.

Rick Nehm is an expert in the medical device industry, with nearly 20 years of leadership experience in marketing and business development. His expertise in interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, and structural heart disease helps drive the growth of CardioMech. Previously, Rick Nehm held leadership positions at medical device companies Boston Scientific, Tendyne Holdings, and ATS Medical.

Jacob Bergsland served as a clinical and academic surgeon in Buffalo, New York, playing a pivotal role in the development of heart transplantation and minimally invasive cardiac surgery in the city. In the 1990s, he served as a United Nations surgeon during the Bosnian War, where he collaborated with local physicians to establish the country’s first cardiac care center. Additionally, Jacob Bergsland worked for over a decade at the Intervention Center of Oslo University Hospital in Norway, which focuses on research into minimally invasive surgical techniques and the development of interventional therapeutic devices.

Jacob Bergsland stated, “Mitral regurgitation is the most common valvular heart disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. CardioMech aims to address prolapse and flail leaflet issues by using a synthetic cord to coapt the mitral valve leaflets. Chordal repair may become a first-line treatment for patients with mitral regurgitation, effectively improving upon current therapeutic outcomes.”

Mark Novotny, a board member of CardioMech, stated, “We are delighted that physicians and investors have endorsed the technological development at CardioMech. This round of financing marks a significant milestone in our corporate journey, demonstrating the strong market appeal of our cardiac therapy technology.”

MedTech, a biotechnology company founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York, USA, is dedicated to developing a professional network community for the bioscience and medical technology industries. Its mission is to foster communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals and other industry stakeholders, while advancing medical education and advocacy.

(Compiled by Hu Yifan)