Four patients in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were successfully treated with CardioKinetix’s catheter-based Parachute ventricular partitioning device, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm announced late last month.
The Parachute device is a minimally invasive catheter-based treatment which separates damaged heart muscle from healthy tissue to decrease the overall volume of the left ventricle and restore its geometry and function.
The device presents a treatment option for enlarged ventricles in the heart, a hard-to-treat condition that affects some heart attack patients and which can leave them with heart failure symptoms such as shortness of breath, persistent cough or wheezing.
"There is a significant unmet need for better treatments for patients with heart failure in Malaysia, where heart disease is a growing public health concern," Dr. Robaayah Zambahari, CEO of Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said in a press statement on behalf of the company. "The Parachute device is an innovative new option that has demonstrated promising results in previous studies."
Heart failure symptoms negatively impact quality of life and surgical treatments for the condition are invasive and typically performed in the later stages of the disease, but medical therapy fails to address the underlying structural issues of ischemic heart failure, Dr. Zambahari added.
The Parachute device already has CE Mark in Europe and CardioKinetix is currently enrolling patients in a U.S. pivotal trial, PARACHUTE IV. The company earlier this year closed a $23 million Series E funding round.
"The expansion of the Parachute device into Asia is an important achievement for the company," CardioKinetix president & CEO Maria Sainz said in a press statement. "Continuing to partner with leading clinicians and heart centers illustrates the promise the Parachute holds to bring a solution for the under-served heart failure patients around the world."
