Excision Medical, Inc., a privately held medical device company addressing the rapidly growing need for lifetime management of aortic stenosis through leaflet modification technology, announced that it has raised a $2.5M financing led by the internal team, and added Drs. James McCabe, MD (UW Medicine, Seattle, WA) and Adam Greenbaum, MD (Emory, Atlanta, GA) as Scientific Advisory Board members.
Greg Walters, President/CEO of the company, stated, “We’re excited to welcome Drs. McCabe and Greenbaum to our team. Their knowledge and expertise in electrosurgical methods along with the additional funding will help us more rapidly advance our catheter systems to address this important medical need.”
James McCabe, MD stated, “The last real hurdle in the lifetime management of aortic stenosis with transcatheter valves is coronary obstruction risk and our inability to remove tissue. Excision offers just that possibility – that leaflet tissue can be removed – which opens a world of possibilities for who gets treated with transcatheter valves and how many times it is possible. Leaflet Excision is the natural evolution of TAVR.”
Adam Greenbaum, MD stated, “We have always felt the closer we can mimic surgical techniques during TAVR, the better outcomes would be. And surgeons remove the indwelling leaflets before new valve insertion. Excising, rather than leaving these no longer needed leaflets behind during TAVR should open the door for more people to be safely treated throughout their lifetime, and we finally have the technology to perform this – without open heart surgery.”
The Excision Medical Leaflet Excision System is designed to allow physicians to target and excise one or more aortic valve leaflets while also considering the hemodynamic needs of patients. Leaflet removal (or excision) will be key to properly mitigating the risk of coronary artery ostia obstruction, and debulking the existing valve prior to redo TAVR, which may also offer additional benefits to the performance of the new valve. Excision Medical is setting the stage for fast and effective valve replacement by designing the system to integrate into the workflow of transcatheter aortic replacement procedures as the wave of secondary replacement approaches in the coming years.
Redo TAVR is a rapidly growing segment of the cardiovascular market and is driving the potential US market for leaflet modification devices to exceed $400 million within 10 years. It is estimated that over 2 million US patients will be living with a bioprosthetic valve by 2032, with an increasing number of those patients outliving the lifespan of their implanted valve. Implanting this second or third TAVR valve (‘redo’ TAVR) is limited in application because of the many potential hazards the existing failed valve presents, such as acute obstruction of the coronary artery ostia. Leaflet modification technology will be vital to mitigate procedural risks, which will enable patients to undergo the safest and most effective percutaneous treatment in both the aortic and mitral positions.
About Excision Medical
Excision Medical, Inc., is a privately held company focused on transforming the TAVR market though safe, simple, and reliable leaflet modification. The company was founded in 2020 by Greg Walters, former CEO of Essential Medical, Inc. (Teleflex, Inc.), Dr. Gary Roubin, MD, PhD, a coronary and carotid stenting pioneer, Dr. David Wood, MD, Head of Cardiology and Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation in Vancouver, British Columbia and Dr. Janarthanan Sathananthan, MD, MPH, Director of the Centre for Heart Valve Innovation Bench Testing Laboratory.
