Hunniwell Lake Ventures || News
Acquisition of SynCardia Systems LLC by Picard Medical Inc.
September 28, 2021 || Picard Medical, Inc (“Picard”), a portfolio company of Hunniwell Lake Ventures, LLC, today announced that it has acquired SynCardia Systems, LLC (“SynCardia”). , the global leader in mechanical heart replacement technology and solution provider.
Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death globally, with approximately 64.3 million heart failure patients in 2017 [1]. With only slightly more than 5,000 heart transplants available and performed globally on an annual basis, there remains a significant need for reliable mechanical heart replacement products.
Tucson, AZ – based SynCardia is the only company in the world with US FDA-approved temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH). It is also CE marked in Europe and approved for use in over 30 countries around the world. The SynCardia TAH has been implanted in over 2,000 patients to-date, accumulated hundreds of years of proven patient-use and safety data, and more importantly, saving and extending patient lives.
SynCardia’s TAH System is comprised of an implant that comes in two sizes: a 70cc version suitable for most adults and a smaller 50cc version for smaller adults and children. The TAH is powered by a pneumatic external driver – a larger hospital version (the “C2”) or a smaller portable version, intended for clinically stable patients to use at home (the “Freedom®”). The system gives patients precious and additional quality time with their families and live their lives, while waiting for a human donor heart.
Picard brings additional technical and commercial expertise to SynCardia, and helps it in accessing new technologies, manufacturing capabilities and potential markets. The acquisition also allows SynCardia to make further improvements to its existing products, provide better clinical support to physicians, and seek approval for expanded use of its devices.
“To up the game, we are investing in next-generation technologies to address ever-broadening clinical needs, and make both the TAH and drivers more user-friendly and accessible to a larger and growing number of patients globally,” said Richard Fang, CEO of Picard Medical, Inc. “We believe that with greater adoption of the SynCardia TAH, fewer people will needlessly die because they lack timely access to human donor heart transplants.
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– Richard Fang, Managing Partner and Founder of Hunniwell Lake Ventures
Footnote:
[1] European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (2021) doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaa147
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Hunniwell Lake Ventures, LLC is a Palo Alto based medical device venture capital firm. It specializes in Surgical Innovations and Intelligent Surgery, technologies that help our physicians See, Treat and Heal better.
Hunniwell Lake Ventures (HLV) is a Palo Alto-based VC firm that invests exclusively in medical devices. Founded by Richard Fang and Daniel Teo, successful medical device entrepreneurs turned venture capitalists, Hunniwell Lake Ventures’ mission is to make surgery safer, more accessible, and less invasive by investing in surgical innovations that help medical providers See, Treat and Heal better.