CorWave announced today that its Series C round has brought in a total €61M ($64 million) to fund entry into clinical trials and initial manufacturing of its wave membrane LVAD.
The French LVAD developer said it will soon inaugurate manufacturing at its facility on the banks of the Seine River in Clichy.
The French government’s Société de Projets Industriels (SPI) fund, managed by Bpifrance, invested €15 million in the latest round. Another €11 million came from European investors and entrepreneurs with strong industrial backgrounds. They include Exor Ventures, controlled by the Agnelli family (Ferrari, Stellantis), and Vlerick Group (textile and metal engineering).
“These investments are the result of demanding selection processes that demonstrate the relevance of our disruptive product and the seriousness of the work carried out by our teams. These funds will enable us to pursue our mission with the aim of improving the lives of advanced heart failure patients around the world,” CorWave CEO Louis de Lillers said in a news release.
This is the second closing of the Series C. The first closing in 2021 brought in €35 million from returning investors (Sofinnova Partners, Seventure Partners, Bpifrance, Novo Holdings and Ysios Capital) and new investors (EIC Fund, Arbevel, M&L Healthcare).
CorWave says its technology can overcome present complications associated with LVADs by mimicking a pulse and blood flow rate similar to a healthy heart. The LVAD accomplishes this through a system driven by an electromagnetic actuator with only one moving part. Current runs through coils to generate oscillations in the LVAD’s magnetic ring. The resulting oscillations trigger a wave propagation along the discoidal membrane that propels the blood inward with a high-fidelity pulsatile flow.
LVADs are important life-extending devices for people with heart failure. Abbott’s HeartMate devices are presently the sole LVAD technology available in the U.S.