The Deep Tech Fund leads investment in Impulse Dynamics, the world's leading medical device company for the treatment of heart failure
Impulse Dynamics, a company focused on the development of devices for the treatment of heart failure, recently announced that it completed a USD 60 million Series D financing, bringing its total financed amount to USD 140 million. This round of capital increase was led by the Deep Tech Fund, which was jointly launched by China Resources Group (CR Group) and China Chengtong Holdings Group Limited (China Chengtong). Leading U.S. healthcare investment firms Redmile Group and Perceptive Advisors participated in the investment. The capital raised will be used to facilitate the global commercialization of the company's Optimizer Smart, an FDA-approved "breakthrough medical device", and fund the development of its iterations.
Heart failure is a chronic progressive disease. It affects approximately 26 million people worldwide. Because of heart failure, the patient's heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. As a result, the patient develops symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue, which seriously affect their daily activities. For patients who meet the Optimizer Smart indications for use, Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM) therapy, developed by Impulse Dynamics, offers a new option to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. The Optimizer family of products using CCM technology is similar in size to a pacemaker and is implanted in the heart below the clavicle using a minimally invasive technique. The product delivers non-excitatory electrical signals to the heart during the absolute refractory period and increases myocardial contractility without changing the heart rate to relieve and reverse the symptoms of heart failure. CCM therapy is the first therapy of its kind designed to strengthen the heart so it can contract more strongly, allowing more oxygen-rich blood to reach the body. This breakthrough technology brings new hope to heart failure patients whose symptoms have not been relieved or whose condition has continued to worsen after drug treatment.
CCM therapy has been used to treat more than 5,000 patients worldwide and is licensed for sale in more than 40 countries, including the United States, Europe, China, Brazil and India. In October 2019, China's first implantation of the latest generation of Optimizer Smart was completed in the Boao Pilot Zone in Hainan.
Responding to this investment, Dr. Tony Zhang, Chief Investment Officer of China Resources Capital Management Ltd. (CR Capital) and CEO of the Deep Tech Fund, said that China has a tremendous and temporarily unmet clinical need for heart failure treatment. After years of research and clinical application, Impulse Dynamics boasts the world's leading breakthrough technology that fills many gaps in heart failure treatment in China and internationally. Tony hopes that Impulse Dynamics will develop a positive interaction with CR Group and China Chengtong in the development of the healthcare business to promote the launch and application of its products in the Chinese Mainland. Tony expects CCM therapy to benefit more Chinese patients and enable them to live a better life.
Simos Kedikoglou, CEO of Impulse Dynamics, said, "We are honored to be endorsed by the senior investors who participated in this round of funding. We also appreciate their confidence in our unique breakthrough and cutting-edge technology and also in the huge potential that lies in the existing market gap. Impulse Dynamics has a well-established product pipeline and two FDA-approved breakthrough devices. Having witnessed the significant improvement in the quality of life of heart failure patients treated with CCM therapy, we are very confident in its therapeutic prospects. We are looking forward to serving more patients with more efficient product iterations and business development."
About the Deep Tech Fund
The Deep Tech Fund was jointly launched by CR Group and China Chengtong, and is jointly managed by CR Capital and China Chengtong (Hong Kong) Asset Management Co., Ltd. The fund focuses on investing in world-class high-tech sectors, such as healthcare, ecological technology, smart manufacturing and new-generation information technology. As an important force of CR Group and China Chengtong in technology investment, the Deep Tech Fund fulfills its mission and responsibility as an enterprise business directly under the central government. The fund adheres to the strategy of investing in world-class technology and implementation in China. It searches the world for advanced technologies and explores business implementation in China to assist CR Group and China Chengtong in their technology planning and exploration.
About Impulse Dynamics
Impulse Dynamics has been working for years to improve the quality of life of patients with heart failure and to optimize the treatment of this disease. Impulse Dynamics is a pioneer in CCM therapy. This therapy, delivered by the Optimizer System, is an effective breakthrough treatment approved by the U.S. FDA. CCM therapy has been proven to significantly improve the quality of life of heart failure patients. It is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment option for many patients with heart failure who are lacking effective treatment options.
