Impulse Dynamics, developer of a pacemakerlike device that helps strengthen the pulses of people suffering from heart failure, has received a big boost in funding to grow its commercial reach and expand its R&D.
The company’s $136 million financing round was led by Perceptive Advisors, Redmile Group, Alger and Hobart Healthcare.
“We continue to make commercial progress globally with more than 9,000 heart failure patients implanted with CCM therapy and millions more who can benefit,” CEO Jason Spees said in a statement, referring to Impulse Dynamics’ cardiac contractility modulation treatment.
CCM includes an implantable pulse generator wired to the cardiac muscle, dubbed the Optimizer system. Instead of synchronizing the timing of a heartbeat, the electric signals it produces help bolster the contractions of the left ventricle, triggering the expression of genes in the myocardium fibers that govern calcium flow and flexing.
“We are also getting closer to significantly impacting the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) market with successful enrollment in our INTEGRA-D clinical trial on the Optimizer Integra CCM-D System,” added Spees, who was appointed CEO last September after serving as president and chief commercial officer.
“Most patients who currently receive a standard ICD get lifesaving benefits from the defibrillator but still struggle with HF symptoms,” he said. “With CCM-D, these patients will be able to get the lifesaving benefits of a defibrillator combined with HF symptom relief from CCM in one device.”
While the company’s current Optimizer Smart Mini system has been FDA approved and CE marked for symptomatic heart failure patients with reduced ejection fractions of between 25% and 45%, Impulse Dynamics is also enrolling participants in a clinical study to examine the use of CCM in those with more preserved ejection fractions of 40% to 60%.
The company previously logged a $101 million financing round in May 2022, including equity and debt. Alger and Squarepoint Capital joined as new investors, while Abiomed and Kennedy Lewis Investment Management returned as previous backers.