4Tech Appoints Global VP of Therapy Development

4Tech Inc., which is developing the world’s first transcatheter device, has appointed Hardip Thakerar as global vice president of therapy development. In this position, Hardip will be responsible for overseeing all sites enrolling patients in the 4Tech “Prevent” clinical trial, as well as identifying and training new sites in Europe, and globally.

Prior to joining 4Tech, Hardip was global vice president of therapy development at Twelve, a developer of transcatheter mitral valve replacement (recently acquired by Medtronic plc). Hardip has 10 years of experience in transcatheter valves serving in clinical, sales, therapy development and marketing management roles at Boston Scientific Corp., St. Jude Medical Inc., and CoreValve. When Hardip joined CoreValve, it was one of the earliest pioneers in transcatheter aortic valve therapy and helped develop the foundations of TAVI as a new therapeutic field. Prior to joining the medical device industry, Hardip served in a variety of clinical positions in catheterization laboratories in the United Kingdom. She holds a science diploma in medical physics and physiological measurement from Peoples College.

“Hardip offers a broad range of competences that will contribute to accelerating development of the 4Tech TriCinch therapy, and I am personally thrilled that Hardip has chosen to join us in the realization of this new frontier in medicine,” said Carine Schorochoff, co-founder and CEO of 4Tech. “As we are enlarging the number of clinical investigation sites, and as we are working on our second-generation 4Tech TriCinch system, I view Hardip as the best-qualified person to support the patients’ access to 4Tech technologies.”

The appointment was announced just a week after 4Tech secured $29 million in an oversubscribed series B financing, led by Valiance and RMM, with participation from existing and new investors NeoMed Management, and a group of business angels with a strong track record in aortic and mitral structural heart disease. The funds will be used to gain European market entry for the 4Tech TriCinch system for TTVR.

“Current standards of care for treating TR leave clinicians and patients with few desirable options,” said Carine Schorochoff. “Our vision is to bring the promise of transcatheter technology to this difficult but often overlooked disease, which we believe will result in meaningful improvements in patient quality of life while at the same time reducing healthcare costs.”

TR is a difficult-to-manage, age-related disorder in which blood “backflows” into the right side of the heart and which affects approximately 3 million people in the U.S. and Europe. The condition is typically managed solely with diuretic medication, as surgical intervention is considered very high-risk. Recurring complications from TR result in frequent re-hospitalizations and often lead to end-stage dialysis, making this condition a significant cost-driver to the healthcare system.

4Tech’s TriCinch system is the world’s first transcatheter device developed to treat this unmet clinical need and is designed to allow clinicians to repair a diseased tricuspid heart valve in a simple and reproducible interventional procedure.

“With its unique TriCinch system, 4Tech is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing trend toward the transcatheter treatment of heart valve disease,” said Jan Pensaert, founder and CEO of Valiance. “We believe the company has the potential to transform the way tricuspid valve disease is treated in the future. Furthermore, 4Tech is leading the evolution of a new and potentially large market segment.”