CardioRenal, CEA Sign Multi-Year Partnership Agreement to Fine-Tune Telemedicine Device

CardioRenal, a new player in telemedicine for patients with severe heart failure, has signed a joint development agreement with the CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, which spans several years. With this arrangement CardioRenal benefits from the expertise and infrastructure of CEA* in pursuing the development of sensors incorporating state-of-the-art electrochemical and microfluidic technologies. Building on these, CardioRenal aims to speed up the launch of a full-fledged blood analysis laboratory that severe heart failure patients can use independently, at home.
 
In developed countries, heart failure is the leading cause of adult hospital admissions. CardioRenal has designed a telemedicine device that provides patients with a more frequent, personalized monitoring regime; avoiding traumatic hospital stays that are costly for healthcare systems.
 
The CEA and CardioRenal will together fine-tune the electrochemical sensors embedded in the microfluidic chip that measures biologic parameters in a single drop of the patient’s blood.
 
Following the co-development and licensing agreement signed with the WeHealth by Servier division of the Servier group in 2017, this latest agreement represents the continuation of CardioRenal’s strategy of engaging with a range of internationally renowned partners in order to become a major player in telemedicine. In addition to the R&D support from the CEA teams, this agreement will allow CardioRenal to benefit from the support from Hub4AIM, an alliance of academic and industrial partners with the necessary skills for the pre-commercial phase of innovative medical devices.
 
“The robust scientific knowledge of CEA-Leti and the scientific staff’s in-depth expertise provide us with the assurance that we will continue to reap the benefits of their world-class know-how,” said Maurice Bérenger, CEO of CardioRenal.
 
“CEA-Leti is delighted to be supporting CardioRenal in the improvement of its home monitoring device for heart failure patients. The shared laboratory will give the CardioRenal team access to all CEA-Leti’s resources and expertise with a view to increasing CardioRenal’s technological lead and accelerating its market launch,” said Emmanuel Sabonnadière, director of CEA-Leti.
 
A major research, development and innovation actor, the CEA (the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) works in four major areas: defense and security, nuclear and renewable energies, technological research for industry and fundamental research. Based on recognized expertise, the CEA participates in establishing collaboration projects with many academic and industrial partners. With its 16,000 researchers and staff, it is a major actor in Europe and has a growing global presence. The CEA was identified in 2017 by Thomson-Reuters/Clarivate as the most innovative public research organization in Europe.

CardioRenal is dedicated to improving treatment at home for severe heart failure patients. CardioRenal’s telemedicine device allows for the daily measurement of three cardiac biomarkers in a single droplet of blood drawn by the patient. The readings are taken via a point-of-care minilab developed by CardioRenal and installed in the patient’s home. The data collected is sent to a secure health data center, where it is stored. The treating physician can then access the data and optimize the treatment accordingly, even when the patient’s condition is not stabilized. Since it was founded in 2013, CardioRenal has received financial backing from the Grand Est Region in France and from the French public investment bank, Bpifrance.

*CEA-Leti, CEA’s electronics and information technology laboratory, in Grenoble