China artificial heart developer raises $100m

Taiping Medical and Health Fund also took part in the round, while existing backer Vivo Capital re-upped. In 2021, Vivo completed a buyout of Evahear worth several tens of millions of US dollars and became the largest shareholder, according to a statement.

Founded in 2014, Evaheart focuses on treatments for severe heart diseases. Its key asset is an implantable artificial heart - the only artificial heart approved in China for both short-term and long-term treatment. The technology originated in Japan following years of development by local universities and research institutes. Evaheart took the technology to the manufacturing stage.

More than 13m people in China have suffered from heart failure out of around 22m patients globally. The mortality rate is comparable to that of malignant tumours, with 30% of patients surviving for five years.

Heart transplants and artificial hearts are the best-recognised treatments. A scarcity of donors and body matching challenges mean only one heart transplant is completed each year per 100 patients. This has contributed to artificial hearts becoming a standardised treatment.

The first patient who received an Evaheart heart has survived for 11 years. The company claims a one-year survival rate of 100% based on clinical trials. It has also expanded globally as the only Chinese artificial heart approved for sale in Europe, Japan, and the US.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Healthcare
• China
• medical devices
• Vivo Ventures