Medical Heart Valve Research Moves Forward

Winchester-based CardiAQ Valve Technologies has received $750,000 in seed cash from Broadview Ventures Inc.

CardiAQ is developing a new approach that allows doctors, using a special catheter, to implant a mitral valve in a beating heart. This permits the patient to avoid undergoing open heart surgery, and reduces the risk and cost to both the patient and the health-care provider, claimed the company.

Now, this past week, CardiAQ announced it had been awarded $750,000 in translational funding from Broadview. CardiAQ will use the cash raised to continue to develop its platform. The full amount of CardiAQ’s funding is now $1.5 million.

Broadview Ventures is associated with Paris-based Fondation Leducq, which has a mission to speed up the development of cardiovascular and neurovascular disease technology through targeted investments.

CardiAQ, which is privately held, claimed in a statement that no other heart valve company has a three dimensional frame that is self-positioning, self-anchoring and self-conforming. Thus, it can treat aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation and mitral regurgitation. Additionally, the technology can be adapted to treat any valve in the heart. The company hopes that eventually its procedure can be used in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, in the same way doctors can perform an angioplasty or stenting operation.