- Heart Biotech Nano Ltd has received a Smart grant of £500K from Innovate UK for the Yacoub Heart Valve®, which promises to revolutionise the way cardiac and vascular patients are treated
- This grant follows Innovate UK’s first investment in the technology, which was made in January of this year
- Based at Harefield Hospital, the Yacoub Heart Valve® is the brainchild of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, the globally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, scientist and researcher
10 July 2005. Heart Biotech Nano Ltd today announced new funding which will accelerate the development of the first valve of its kind for use in adults and children requiring heart valve replacement surgery.
The Yacoub Heart Valve® uses intricate scaffold technology to trigger and harness the body’s own healing process and create a brand-new heart valve in place of a damaged, diseased or congenitally defective valve. Once implanted, the valve rapidly begins to generate living tissue while the scaffold slowly dissolves, leaving behind an entirely natural valve produced by the patient’s own body. This means that the valve will be durable, will grow with the patient and as it has been built from the patient’s own cells, will never be rejected.
Heart Biotech Nano Ltd CEO Francis White comments: “This is another key milestone for us and a particularly notable one, given that on average, only 2% of Smart grant applications are successful. We’re pleased that Innovate UK have seen the potential in the Yacoub Heart Valve® and we look forward to the next chapter in our story.”
Heart Biotech Nano Ltd is committed to the rigorous process that will bring this technology to patients and eventually see the use of the Living Valve across global healthcare systems. The next step is to gain FDA approval for Investigation Device Exemption (IDE) in the US, after which the valve will be used in 50 patients. After this initial human trial, a head-to-head trial with an established artificial valve can begin.
More information on Innovate UK
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions.
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org