Innovative New Pulsatile LVAD Wins 2021 HealthTech Award

October 20, 2021 – CorWave, a French medtech company developing a next-generation heart pump, won the 2021 HealthTech Award in the Medtech category this week for its left ventricular assist device (LVAD) membrane pump technology. Rather than conventional rotary pumps, this LVAD uses electromagnetic pulses to causes a membrane to move up and down, creating pulsatile pumping action more similar to the native heart.

Organized by France Biotech, the French professional association of healthtech entrepreneurs, the event rewards the companies that have made the biggest impact on the sector this year. There were 109 companies that submitted applications for the 2021 Healthtech Awards. 

CorWave received the Medtech Award, which recognizes a medical device or diagnostic company that has distinguished itself over the past two years by making big advances in areas such as R&D, operational development, or financing.

CorWave marked significant achievements during 2021 in each of these areas. In January, the company announced a €35 million Series C funding round, in which its existing investors (Bpifrance, Novo Holdings, Seventure, Sofinnova Partners and Ysios Capital) were joined by Financière Arbevel, M&L Healthcare and the European Commission funded $4.4 billion EIC Fund, which is one of the largest VC funds in Europe.

CorWave also made major progress in R&D, completing an unprecedented in vivo preclinical study in which its heart pump successfully operated in pulsatile mode, synchronizing with the native heart without the aid of sensors, for 90 days. On the operational development front, CorWave bolstered its team with the recruitment of two seasoned international professionals who bring over three decades of experience in the heart pump field. They will lead the key operational functions of the company as it transitions to clinical device production and clinical trial phase.

Bernard Kirsch, President of Angels Santé, and Guirec Le Lous, a leader of the family-owned Urgo Group, one of France's largest medical device companies, jointly presented the award to CorWave.

"It is an honor to be awarded this first Medtech prize organized by France Biotech, an association that was created nearly 25 years ago and is a reference in our field of life sciences. This encouragement will further strengthen the motivation of our team, which is working with determination to fulfill our mission: to save heart failure patients and offer them an active life. We will also do our utmost to ensure that CorWave realizes its full potential and becomes a global leader," said Louis de Lillers, CEO of CorWave.

"As chairman of the selection jury for the 2021 Healthtech Awards, I am delighted that CorWave has been awarded the Medtech Award. It rewards the excellence of CorWave and its teams, and through it, the innovation of our French healthtech companies. The France Biotech Association is more than ever committed to working alongside healthcare entrepreneurs to bring ever more innovative solutions to patients," said Franck Mouthon, President of France Biotech.

CorWave is a French company that develops innovative cardiac assist devices for heart failure patients. CorWave's wave membrane is a breakthrough technology that differs from today's commercially available LVADs by its physiological operation, including the ability to mimic a pulse and blood flow rates similar to those of a healthy heart. Ultimately, CorWave's membrane pump technology is expected to reduce the complications associated with current devices and improve the management of heart failure patients. CorWave was founded in 2012 by start-up studio MD Start and is funded by renowned investors including Bpifrance, EIC Fund, Financière Arbevel, M&L Healthcare, Novo Holdings, Seventure, Sofinnova Partners and Ysios. The company has secured €80 million in equity and non-dilutive financing and employs over fifty people. 

For more information: www.corwave.com