Magenta Medical, an Israel-based healthcare technology company, announced that it has closed a financing round worth $55 million. The funds are expected to support the continued development of its Elevate percutaneous left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which the company describes as the “world’s smallest heart pump.”
The device is folded at the start of the implantation process, inserted through the patient’s groin and then later expanded inside their left ventricle. It has already been the subject of multiple trials—including a first-in-human study in Tbilisi, Georgia—but it has not yet been fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has, however, received the FDA’s breakthrough device designation for two indications: high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention and cardiogenic shock.
OrbiMed led this latest funding round, and existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Pitango VC and ALIVE – Israel HealthTech Fund all also participated.
“Magenta is proud to add OrbiMed to its growing roster of leading MedTech investors as a highly reputable partner for innovative medical device companies,” David Israeli, MD, CEO of Magenta Medical, said in a prepared statement. “I am confident that together we can build an organization well-equipped to bring to the market high-impact technology that can potentially address multiple unmet needs in the general cardiology patient population, as well as in many under-served patient groups.”
“We are excited to have identified the merits of Magenta's technology, with its strong disruptive potential, and are extremely pleased with the relationships that we have built with management, the founders, and the existing investors,” David Bonita, MD, general partner at OrbiMed, said in the same statement. “We look forward to advancing the clinical programs and accelerating the introduction of this important technology to the market in the U.S. and globally.”
Abiomed has described its own Impella ECP heart pump as the world’s smallest heart pump for years now. The company was also an early investor in Magenta Medical, contributing to a financing round worth $15 million back in 2017. Johnson and Johnson announced its plans to acquire Abiomed for $16.6 billion in 2022, suggesting that this technology is expected to play a key role in patient care for many years to come.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.