SATS MEETING 2024

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EpiHeart participated to the annual meeting of the Scandinavian Association of Thoracic Surgery (SATS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was great to see Nordic cardiac surgeons and visit the thorax department at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

In one of the presentations, Milan Milojevic, MD PhD (pictured above) discussed new European Society of Cardiology guidelines regarding arrhythmias. In the updated guidelines "the surgical closure of the left atrial appendage is recommended as an adjunct to oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardiac surgery to prevent ischaemic stroke and thromboembolism" and also to be considered in other cases.

EpiHeart is providing a solution to utilize the occluded and harvested atrial appendage to treat ischaemic damages in the cardiac muscle during cardiac surgery. These new guidelines will steer the surgeons towards closing the left atrial appendage during surgery and giving them the opportunity to use the autologous material for regenerative treatment like EpiHeart's. 

 The first efficacy study of Cardiac Micrograft Therapy using EpiHeart devices is ongoing and recruiting patients. We’re proud to be part of the study and developing better care for heart failure. You can see the study details closer from clinicaltrials.gov website.

In addition to the medical advances and making our first commercial sales, EpiHeart secured a funding in May 2024, where current shareholders were joined by some renowned Finnish private investors. With this support, we’re aiming to expand our studies and enable cardiac cell therapy in surgery.

During the first half of this year we've also deepened our connections with esteemed University hospitals in Europe and we're looking forward to start collaboration in cardiac treatments. 

EpiHeart and the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cardiovascular Science have entered into a collaboration to develop advanced therapies for the treatment of heart failure. The multi-year collaboration is supported by Medical Research Scotland.

Advanced gene therapies offer the ultimate potential to repair damaged hearts by targeting cell signalling and protein production. The Centre for Cardiovascular Science, part of the University of Edinburgh, is a world leader in cardiovascular gene therapy research. EpiHeart enables Cardiac Micrograft Therapy™, an autologous cell therapy delivered during heart surgery.

"The combination of gene therapy and Cardiac Micrograft Therapy™ is extremely exciting for two reasons. Firstly, there is clearly potential for novel therapeutic approaches to be explored. Secondly, the epicardial treatment approach enables unique features, including precise dosing, local administration and reduced systemic exposure," says Kai Kronström, CEO of EpiHeart.

"I believe this collaboration with EpiHeart not only supports basic science, but also has the potential to reduce the burden of transitioning from laboratory into clinical research," says Professor Andrew Baker, Head of the Centre for Cardiovascular Science.

Kai Kronström, co-founder and CEO of EpiHeart, says: "We are honoured to be working with the team led by Professor Baker. The support from Medical Research Scotland has been invaluable. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration". 

Further information may be requested:

Kai Kronström, EpiHeart CEO, info@epiheart.com

First patient cases always mark a major milestone for medical device companies in the development of novel treatments and devices. We reached this milestone last week when first patient was treated with EpiHeart’s medical devices to provide cardiac cellular therapy leveraging autologous left atrial appendage derived microtissues. The treatment was given as a part of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgery by Professor Dr. Jan Schmitto and his interdisciplinary Heart-Team at MHH (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover) in Hannover, Germany.

Patients receiving LVAD are commonly very sick as their heart failure has progressed so far that a lifesaving pump is needed to support the blood flow. Often LVAD implantation is used to provide functional support for the failing heart before heart transplantation as patients wait for suitable donor hearts. This patient group is relevant for microtissue-based cellular therapies for two reasons. Firstly, there is a vast clinical need to support both sides of the failing heart. Secondly, as some of the patients will later receive heart transplants, the biological effects of the epicardial cellular therapy can be evaluated utilizing the latest state-of-the-art molecular and cellular analyses. 

“Based on this successful case experience, a larger clinical study is being prepared. We are looking forward to a promising and continued collaboration between our team at MHH and EpiHeart.” - Prof. Dr. Jan Schmitto

Further information may be requested:

Kai Kronström, EpiHeart CEO, info@epiheart.com