VADovations Secures Investment, Development Agreement for Percutaneous Endovascular Delivery System

VADovations Inc., a company developing miniaturized cardiac assist pumps offering best-in-class blood handling properties, high performance and low cost, has reached an agreement with a strategic partner to both invest in the company and develop a percutaneous endovascular delivery system for VADovations’ cardiac assist pump for long-term use in patients suffering with heart failure. This next-generation technology is designed to avoid open surgical implantation while addressing the limitations of current blood pumps.
 
Kurt Dasse Ph.D., president of VADovations, said, “Advanced heart failure patients will appreciate and benefit from reduced trauma and improved quality of life from less invasive cardiac assist device implant techniques. Combining best-in-class heart pumps with novel deployment technology will be well-received by clinicians and patients. This type of innovation supports our mission to overcome the limitations of current and emerging devices. We are proud to work with our strategic partner to enable the endovascular deployment of VADovations’ ultra-miniature cardiac assist pump uniquely designed for enhanced safety and cost-effectiveness. This approach eliminates the need for extensive open-heart surgery, which is today’s standard of care.”
 
Heart failure is a serious problem affecting 500,000 patients annually in the United States alone. Left untreated, it is more fatal than cancer and options are limited as heart failure progresses. Heart transplantation is effective at end-stage but is limited to only 3,500 hearts annually. The growing field of Mechanical Circulatory Support systems offers alternatives for cardiothoracic surgeons and interventional cardiologists.
 
James Long M.D., Ph.D., a recognized heart transplant surgeon and a pioneer in the use of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) for heart failure, explained, “The MCS field needs to reduce the complexity and cost of implanting cardiac assist devices. Improved implant techniques should increase the number of patients who are clinically appropriate candidates for long-term use of cardiac assist devices.”
 
VADovations maintains an affiliation with INTEGRIS Health, Oklahoma’s largest health care provider, a not-for-profit system that enjoys distinction for innovation, leading-edge medicine and is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. INTEGRIS will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit missions in patient care, education and research.
 
Northland Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to VADovations.