Magenta Medical — an Israeli company developing what it bills as “the world’s smallest heart pump” — closed a $55 million financing round on Wednesday.

The round was led by OrbiMed, with participation from New Enterprise Associates, Pitango and Alive Israel HealthTech Fund. Magenta did not disclose how much the company has raised to date.

The new funding will be used primarily to help the medtech company attain FDA approval for its flagship product — a percutaneous left ventricular assist device called Elevate.

Founded in 2012, Magenta’s mission is to create a heart pump that provides better flood flow to the heart without being too invasive, said CEO David Israeli in a recent interview.

“Temporary mechanical circulatory support devices are intended to augment the pumping function of the heart for a period of up to several days, until native heart function can recover to a point where no outside help is needed. This is a rapidly growing market, but existing solutions are either overly invasive — and fraught with complications — or provide too little flow and support to the ailing heart,” he explained.

The Elevate pump seeks to solve both of these problems. It provides “best-in-class flow” with a mean blood flow of 5 liters per minute, and it’s smaller than the other pumps on the market, Israeli declared. The device’s low insertion profile translates into less access site complications, he added.

Magenta’s pump is initially folded and then inserted through the patient’s groin using a small puncture. It then goes inside the patient’s heart and across the aortic valve, which means that the device transports blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the aorta (the main blood vessel in the body coming out of the heart). The pump’s driving mechanism is a rotating impeller, and its speed is controlled by clinical staff using a dedicated bedside console, Israeli explained.

Magenta doesn’t expect the Elevate pump to gain FDA approval for another few years, Israeli said. But the agency has recognized the potential benefits of the high-flow, low-profile device — the pump has received breakthrough device designation for two indications: high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention and cardiogenic shock.

Forging the path to FDA approval, Magenta has already completed its first-in-human study for the Elevate device, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia. The company is now planning to begin a clinical feasibility study in the U.S.

Should Magenta’s device be approved by the FDA, it would enter competition with companies like Boston Scientific, Abiomed and Supira Medical. Israeli thinks the Elevate pump will stand out because no other device provides the “unique and powerful combination of very low insertion profile and high flow.”

In its press release announcing its new funding, Magenta called the field of temporary mechanical circulatory support “one of the fastest growing markets in interventional cardiology.” There’s some truth to that — for example, Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Abiomed was one of last year’s largest medical technology deals. Johnson & Johnson paid $16.6 billion for the company, which offers a line of transcatheter heart pumps. In other words, both companies are betting that this will be a robust opportunity worthy of investment. 

Photo: Magicmine, Getty Images