BAAR, Switzerland - Tuesday, 10. September 2024
The Series B
funding enables both an International Pivotal trial to diagnose MVO and a
randomized controlled trial to evaluate therapeutic treatments for MVO
through the CoFI system
(BUSINESS WIRE) -- CorFlow
Therapeutics AG (CorFlow) announced today that it has raised €44 million
in Series B funding, co-led by Broadview Ventures and Panakes Partners
with strong continued support from 415 Capital, CorFlow's initial VC
investor and largest shareholder. Merieux Equity Partners, Laerdal
Million Lives Fund, Wellington Partners, M&L Investments, Unorthodox
Ventures, KOFA Healthcare and Monte Carlo Capital participated in the
multinational syndicate.
Concurrent with the financing, David
Prim of Broadview Ventures, Barbara Castellano of Panakes Partners,
Yoann Bonnamour of Merieux Equity Partners, and Rhiya Pau of Laerdal
Million Lives Fund have joined the CorFlow Board of Directors.
The
Series B will fund the MOCA II (MVO with CoFITM System Assessment II)
pivotal study intended to gain US market clearance. The trial will run
in the US and Europe and aims to validate CorFlow’s CoFl system to
diagnose MVO in heart attack patients immediately following stent
implantation. Additionally, it will fund an adaptive platform therapy
study evaluating treatment effects of therapeutic agents delivered
locally through the CoFl system on heart attack patients diagnosed with
MVO.
MVO affects more than half of all patients who suffer an
acute heart attack and is an independent predictor for heart failure and
mortality. Currently not routinely diagnosed MVO remains largely
untreated, leading to poor patient outcomes, and contributing to high
health care costs associated with cardiovascular disease.
CorFlow’s
CoFl system is being developed to provide timely, accurate and
consistent detection of MVO while patients are still in the catheter
laboratory (cath lab) immediately following the reopening of the larger
epicardial arteries with a stent. Uniquely, the technology has been
designed to also enable localized delivery of therapeutics to the
microvasculature upon MVO diagnosis. CoFl also seamlessly integrates
into standard workflows utilizing existing guide catheter and wire
access.
"We are thrilled to have closed on this significant round
of financing, backed by a top-tier global syndicate of medical
technology investors," commented Paul Mead, President and Chief
Executive Officer of CorFlow. "Recent data from over 70 patients in our
MOCA I first in human trial and from our extensive preclinical program
support our collective confidence that we can improve outcomes in
patients who suffer heart attacks, specifically those patients whose
microvascular disease goes undiagnosed and untreated today. There is
overwhelming evidence now that microvascular conditions are a
significant root cause of adverse outcomes in heart attack patients and
other cardiovascular conditions. I am grateful that our new investors
have the vision to see 'where the puck is going' in this rapidly
emerging field."
The MOCA II IDE trial is designed to confirm the
CoFl system’s accuracy in diagnosing MVO in high-risk heart attack
patients. Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Tim Henry of The Christ
Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, the trial will recruit several hundred
patients undergoing stent implantation due to ST-Elevation Myocardial
Infarction (STEMI) and will compare CoFl's proprietary dynamic
diagnostic measurement of MVO to post-procedure Contrast Enhanced
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMRI), the current gold standard for
detecting MVO. The MOCA II trial leverages the learnings from the
company’s First-In-Human MOCA I trial conducted in Switzerland, Latvia
and the UK.
"There is increasing awareness of the impact of MVO
on patient outcomes following coronary revascularization. CorFlow has
the potential to be the next significant breakthrough in treating
coronary artery disease, and Broadview is delighted to be supporting
this impressive team and technology,” states David Prim of Broadview
Ventures.
"CorFlow's breakthrough technology has been designed by
clinicians for clinicians and we are excited to support CorFlow's
mission to generate robust clinical data in order to get this much
needed therapy to the patient as quickly as possible." adds Barbara
Castellano of Panakes Partners. "We also are committed to supporting the
emerging field of microvascular disease in general, and this
oversubscribed funding round gives us options to apply the technology in
new ways, and in new geographies, where patients can benefit.”
The
funding will also support a novel adaptive platform therapy trial in
Europe evaluating whether localized delivery of therapeutics to the
microvasculature immediately following stent implantation can improve
outcomes in patients diagnosed with MVO. Led by Dr. Giovanni Luigi De
Maria (Oxford University Hospitals Trust, UK) and Professor Colin Berry
(University of Glasgow and NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital, UK),
this European RCT will assess the effects of several therapeutic agents
with both clinical and imaging measures up to six months.
"The
improvement in outcomes for heart attack patients has stagnated over
many years now and we believe that real-time diagnosis and targeted
therapy for MVO has the potential to save the lives of countless
patients in the future." Comments Frederik Groenewegen of 415 Capital.
"We have long been believers in the CorFlow technology and team, and
with the support of this first-class investor syndicate we now have the
opportunity to collect the clinical data required to establish a new
standard of heart attack care."
About CorFlow Therapeutics:
Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, with offices in Italy, and founded
in 2016 by Dr. Rob Schwartz, Dr. Martin Rothman and Jon Hoem. CorFlow
aspires to be the leader in diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for
restoring healthy microvascular blood flow anywhere in the human body
where a critical need exists. Working in close partnership with
scientists from the University of Bern, ETH Zurich and the University
Hospital Zurich, in a collaboration funded by the Swiss Innovation
Agency (Innosuisse), CorFlow continues to explore applications in and
beyond the heart.
About Microvascular Obstruction (MVO): Often
described as the "last frontier" in the treatment of acute heart
attacks, MVO is characterized by blockages in the microvascular coronary
arteries, which vary in size down to the circumference of a human hair.
Previous research has identified that MVO is one of the most powerful
prognostic indicators for future adverse outcomes - for every 1%
increase in MVO, there’s a corresponding 14% increase in one-year
mortality risk and 8% increase in hospitalization due to heart failure.
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CorFlow Therapeutics AG
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