Israel-based medical devices maker V-Wave has raised $70m financing, which will be used to support the clinical trial of its device therapy for the treatment of heart failure (HF) patients.

The company closed series C financing under the round led by Deerfield Management, and the participants included new investors such as Endeavour Vision, Quark Venture and Aperture Venture Partners.

Existing investors such as Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC), Edwards Lifesciences, BRM Group, Pontifax, Pura Vida Investments, TriVentures, BioStar Ventures and Israel Secondary Fund have also participated in the financing round.

V-Wave secured investigational device exemption (IDE) approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a global, randomized, controlled and double-blinded multicenter clinical trial of its novel device therapy to treat HF patients.

The Relieve-HF study is being designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of the novel device therapy in HF patients with Class III or ambulatory Class IV symptoms with preserved or reduced ejection fraction already receiving optimal therapies.

According to the company, more than 26 million people suffering from chronic heart failure across the globe and HF is the major cause of hospitalizations in multiple countries, including the US.

Deerfield Management principal Andrew ElBardissi said: “V-Wave has developed a novel technology that addresses the underlying cause of heart failure decompensations.”

V-Wave CEO Neal Eigler said: “As an interventional cardiologist focused on HF for the past two decades, I am excited that with this funding, we can pursue the science that will bring us a giant step closer to commercial release of an easy to implant device that can provide the hope for immediate and longer-term symptom relief, increased exercise capacity, decreased need for acute hospital admission, and reduced mortality with an improved quality of life for hundreds of thousands of suffering patients.”

V-Wave’s minimally-invasive implanted interatrial shunt device for treating patients with severe symptomatic HF is designed to regulate Left Atrial Pressure.

Image: V-Wave will use funding to support pivotal study of heart failure therapy. Photo: courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.