AtaCor Medical Raises $8.8M to Develop Substernal Cardiac Pacing System

AtaCor Medical Inc. has completed a $8.8 millon Series A financing. Co-led by Boston, Mass.-based Broadview Ventures and Israel-based aMoon Ventures, the financing also includes participation from a corporate partner. The investment will support the continued development of AtaCor’s extravascular substernal cardiac pacing system.
 
AtaCor is developing a cardiac pacing method that does not require any hardware to be placed inside or onto a patient’s heart. The technology will offer a new treatment option for both transient and chronic bradycardia, including the escalating need for temporary pacing in conjunction with TAVR procedures.
 
“We welcome our new venture partners and extend our appreciation to our earlier investors in supporting AtaCor’s goal to free patients’ hearts from unnecessary pacing hardware,” said Rick Sanghera, AtaCor’s CEO. “We are excited to accelerate development efforts and look forward to bringing this new pacing option to patients and physicians alike.”
 
Today, when patients require pacemaker therapy, pacing hardware is inserted into the veins and attached to the inside of the heart, a process requiring extensive X-ray imaging. Once implanted, this hardware can lead to serious complications with challenging removal procedures, even for newer “leadless” pacemakers. Temporary pacing leads, used in emergencies and other planned procedures, often force bedrest restrictions on patients, and carry their own set of risks.

“AtaCor’s technology promises to be a step change in cardiac pacing, and we look forward to working closely with the AtaCor team to support their progress toward the clinic,” said Maria Berkman of Broadview Ventures.
 
Established in 2014, AtaCor Medical is transforming cardiac pacing. AtaCor’s substernal pacing lead is inserted without any need for medical imaging, allowing for faster, less-invasive therapy delivery. The unique placement avoids the need to access the patient’s vascular system and leaves the heart completely untouched. Furthermore, the substernal lead is designed to eliminate bedrest restrictions associated with temporary pacing, thereby improving patient mobility and post-procedural recovery.
 
AtaCor’s management team is comprised of seasoned experts from within the implantable cardiac device and electrophysiology fields, with over 80 years of combined experience. The company’s substernal pacing system is being developed for temporary and permanent pacing markets and is not yet approved for sale in any geography.