Annoviant recently announced it was awarded a $2.99 million National Institutes of Health grant to advance its TxGuard pulmonary-valved conduit for pediatric heart disease.
The grant, an SBIR Phase 2 b grant, will help the Atlanta-based company accelerate the development and commercialization of its technology. It builds upon the company’s previous Phase 2 NIH grant issued in 2021.
“We are delighted to receive this additional grant from the NIH, accompanied by matching funds from our esteemed investors. This marks a significant milestone for Annoviant as we accelerate our pursuit of impactful innovation to save lives,” Co-founder and CEO Ajay Houde said in a news release.
Annoviant’s TxGuard is used in conduit replacements to treat congenital heart disease (CHD). According to the company, the condition affects approximately 40,000 newborns annually in the U.S. and 1.35 million worldwide.
The device is resistant to calcification, thrombosis, infection, and host cell integration. It provides durable pulmonary valved grafts that adapt and regenerate alongside patients to minimize the need for multiple re-operations over their lifetime.
“Pediatric CHD patients require medical devices that can evolve with them into adulthood. After fifteen years of dedicated research, we have developed TxGuard™ technology to address this critical need, resisting thrombosis and calcification while promoting host cell integration and remodeling. With NIH Phase IIb funding, we look forward to further refining pulmonary valved conduits for the benefit of CHD patients,” Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Naren Vyavahare said.
