Impulse Dynamics is taking its medical device to treat chronic heart conditions to a whole new level. Developer of the Optimizer Smart System for cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) treatment of patients with progressive heart disease just secured $80 million in financing.
Proceeds from new investors will be directed toward commercializing the company’s Optimizer, an FDA-approved—the first and only CCM device approved in the U.S.—implantable device found to help strengthen the heart and help it beat more forcibly; CCM therapy sends unique electrical pulses to the heart cells.
“This development brings encouraging news to the vast number of heart failure patients in the U.S. and around the world who suffer poor quality of life and have run out of viable options to treat their disease,” said Simos Kedikoglou, CEO of Impulse Dynamics. We look forward to accelerating the ramp-up of our commercial operations, particularly in the U.S. … to make this potential a reality for physicians and their patients.”
Heart failure, a condition where the the heart is not able to pump forcibly enough to meet the body’s needs, affects approximately 26 million people, making it one most chronic conditions worldwide. In the U.S. alone, there are six million people are living with the disease.
As the condition progresses, patients may experience increased fatigue and breathlessness, and while medications can typically help during the onset of the disease, they can wane in effectiveness over time.
Impulse’s CCM therapy with the Optimizer Smart could be an alternative and help millions of people suffering from the disease improve their quality of life, and it has already been proven to help users enhance small steps in physical activity, specifically a six-minute walk.
The Mount Laurel, NJ-based Impulse is currently bringing in more employees to help manage the rollout of the device in the U.S. Implanting can be done on an outpatient basis and takes roughly 40 to 45 minutes.
Now available in the U.S., Europe, China, Brazil, India and more than 40 other countries, the Optimizer Smart has already been implanted in more than 4,000 patients.
