New institutional investors, including Sands Capital and Braidwell, led the financing. Returning investors Redmile, Perceptive and Alger, along with several prominent industry executives, also participated. This follows a $136 million raise last year.
Marlton, New Jersey–based Impulse Dynamics said the funding helps to enhance commercialization and fuel its clinical and technology pipelines. Funding comes on the heels of a new CMS announcement issuing a national coverage determination (NCD) for CCM therapy.
Impulse Dynamics develops the Optimizer system, designed to deliver cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) therapy to the heart. It significantly improves heart contraction to allow more oxygen-rich blood to push out through the body.
“This support recognizes the evidence-based outcomes of CCM therapy, with over 12,000 patients implanted to date and opens the pathway to greater care for HF patients,” said Jason Spees, CEO, Impulse Dynamics. “As the NCD removes a significant barrier to access by providing coverage and reimbursement for a substantial patient population, this investment will help expand access to CCM therapy to more HF patients in need. Furthermore, it will accelerate the ongoing development and future commercialization of the CCM-D HF system, a single device designed to deliver CCM therapy for the treatment of HF symptoms along with life-saving, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy.”
More about Impulse Dynamics, Optimizer and its latest funding round
Impulse Dynamics designed an Optimizer with an implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted through a minimally invasive procedure.
Optimizer delivers CCM to the heart to help patients suffering from heart failure. CCM therapy can improve six-minute hall walks, quality of life and functional status of NYHA Class III HF patients who remain symptomatic despite guideline-directed medical therapy, are not receiving CRT, and have a left ventricular ejection fraction ranging from 25% to 45%.
The company also has ongoing clinical trials (INTEGRA-D and AIM HIGHer) evaluating its technology. INTEGRA-D looks at the next-generation CCM-D HF system, an investigational system that could relieve HF symptoms while also providing ICD therapy. AIM HIGHer evaluates CCM in diastolic HF.
“Impulse Dynamics is uniquely positioned to fill a critical gap in HF care: providing symptom relief for patients who have limited treatment options beyond medications,” said Guido Neels, chair of the Impulse Dynamics board. “The organization has successfully built a strong foundation of clinical evidence and is advancing a promising pipeline of next-generation technologies, including the investigational CCM-D HF system.
