The company received CE marking for its artificial heart as a bridge to transplant in December last year
The implant is the company's first sale ever since it was created in 2008.(Credit: StockSnap from Pixabay)
French company CARMAT has announced the first implant of its Aeson bioprosthetic artificial heart in a commercial setting in Italy.
The implant, which was done at the Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli hospital in Naples, is expected to lead to the company’s commercial development.
For CARMAT, the implant is also its first sale ever since it was created in 2008.
The company plans to focus its Aeson artificial heart marketing efforts on Germany this year, in line with its strategy. In December last year, the company received CE marking for its artificial heart as a bridge to transplant.
CARMAT chief executive officer Stéphane Piat said: “The first commercial implant of the Aeson heart is a major milestone in CARMAT’s history. It paves the way for a large number of patients to gradually access our therapy, and is the culmination of many years of work for our teams and our partners.
Designed to replace ventricles of native heart, the Aeson TAH is indicated as a bridge to transplant in patients suffering from end-stage biventricular heart failure and who could undergo heart transplant in the 180 days following device implantation.
CARMAT intends to address the shortfall in heart transplants for people suffering from irreversible end-stage heart failure, with the development of its total artificial heart, Aeson.
Aeson consists of the implantable bioprosthesis and a portable external power supply system to which it is continuously connected.
Currently, the device available within the framework of clinical trials in the US.
Stéphane Piat said: “The feedback we are receiving, both within the framework of our clinical trials, notably very recently in the United States, and in our discussions with European hospitals as part of Aeson’s commercialization, makes us very confident that our Aeson artificial heart is a “game changer” and offers unique benefits to patients, compared to all existing therapies.”