CorWave Issued U.S. Patent Covering its Implantable Left Ventricular Assist Device

CorWave, a French developer of implantable cardiac support devices for patients suffering from heart failure, has obtained a U.S. patent related to its implantable left ventricular assist device.
 
Titled “Implantable pump system having an undulating membrane,” the patent describes the application of CorWave’s technology for blood pumping in a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), and specific designs related to using the wave membrane technology to make a blood pump. The term of this patent extends into 2037. A corresponding PCT international application is also pending.
 
This patent further completes CorWave’s extended IP portfolio across four patent families.
 
Contrary to the different LVADs on the market today, CorWave wave membrane technology is able to mimic a pulse and produce blood flow velocity similar to that of a native heart. Closer to the natural functioning of the heart, CorWave pumps have the potential to drastically reduce the risk of complications and costs associated with them. Despite the numerous limitations of the current technologies, the LVAD market already represents about $1 billion of sales globally.
 
“This is a significant milestone for the company and the R&D group. We have been working hard at the forefront of the technological frontier to bring CorWave’s novel pumping technology to the LVAD space. The receipt of this patent reinforces the unique nature of the wave technology,” said Carl Botterbusch, CorWave chief technology officer.
 
 CorWave was incorporated by MD Start, a company builder that brought several medical breakthroughs to the clinic. CorWave’s pumping technology relies on solid scientific foundations stemming from over 20 years of research initiated by an alumnus from the Arts et Métiers ParisTech, an engineering and research graduate school in France, in collaboration with a French National Scientific Research Centre laboratory.
 
CorWave is bringing its pumping technology to the field of heart pumps in response to a public health problem: chronic heart failure. In collaboration with university hospitals, CorWave is developing two ground-breaking products: Neptune, a full support LVAD and Nemo, a partial support cardiac assist device.
 
“CorWave is a company with global ambitions. Having a patented system in the U.S. is a requirement to bring the expected benefits of CorWave’s technology to American patients and clinicians. Thousands of American patients are already supported by LVADs and the U.S. is home to numerous clinical centers of excellence that have been pioneering the LVAD field for decades,” noted Louis de Lillers, CorWave CEO.
 
CorWave develops cardiac support devices. The CorWave technology stands out from other LVADs currently on the market due to its physiological design enabled by its unique undulating membrane. Among other things, it is able to mimic a pulse and produce blood flow velocity similar to that of a healthy heart. Eventually, CorWave’s membrane pump technology should reduce complications associated with current devices and improve the care of patients with heart failure, a market potentially worth several billion euros.
Founded in 2011 by the incubator MD Start and supported by well-known investors, including Bpifrance, Novo Seeds, Seventure, Sofinnova and Ysios, CorWave has received over 20 million euros of financing and employs more than 50 people.