Cardiola raises $2+ million from existing investors

Cash infusion is first tranche of ongoing $7+ million financing round
The clinical evidence is substantial: our m.pulse system with Muscular CounterPulsation represents a whole new paradigm for successfully treating Chronic Heart Failure, non-surgically, in a patients home. Christof Lenz, CEO

WINTERTHUR, Switzerland Cardiola AG announced today that it has raised $2.02 million (2.3 million Swiss francs) from existing investors. The cash infusion represents the first tranche of an ongoing $7.02 million (8 million Swiss francs) Series “E” financing round. The proceeds are being used to commercialize in Europe the Company’s patented m.pulse® device designed to treat Chronic Heart Failure (CHF), non-surgically, in a patient’s home.

Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) is the most frequent cause of hospitalization in persons aged 65+. Current treatments, including drugs, implantable defibrillators/pumps and heart transplantation, have significant risks and side effects. Cardiola’s m.pulse® device, based on Muscular CounterPulsation (MCP) technology, is approved in Europe for treating CHF as a nonsurgical, at-home therapy. Battery-powered m.pulse®, the size of a cell phone that the patient attaches to his belt for about 45 minutes per treatment, is synchronized to his cardiac cycle to stimulate the muscles of the calves and thighs to make them contract counter to the heart’s beating. This well-established counterpulsation action results in increased blood flow to the heart muscle while decreasing the heart’s workload. Counterpulsation was previously only available in a clinical setting. Now, m.pulse® is the world’s first and only device enabling CHF patients to receive MCP therapy at home.

“We have created a ‘win/win’ situation with m.pulse® for both the physician and patient,” said Christof Lenz, CEO, former Global Innovation Manager at Siemens Medical. “CHF patients are very difficult to treat. They have co-morbidities and are challenging from a drug-dosage point of view—drugs have side effects that can act to deter patients’ compliance. And while highly invasive procedures may offer hope and relief as CHF progresses, these alternatives are also risky and costly. On the other hand, m.pulse® offers patients a well-validated, affordable and non-surgical treatment alternative that they themselves can perform in their own home. In addition to helping patients, m.pulse® with Muscular CounterPulsation offers cardiologists an additional source of revenue.”

Chronic Heart Failure is among the world’s most prevalent diseases and the cause of numerous other serious clinical disorders. Approximately 17 million people currently suffer from CHF in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. Some six million of these patients are classified as NYHA (New York Heart Assn.) classes II and III with systolic dysfunction, the primary patient population for m.pulse® with Muscular CounterPulsation from Cardiola.

Source: Cardiola