Treatment of Severe Heart Failure – AI: FineHeart Strengthens Its Management Team in the Run up to the ICOMS FLOWMAKER® First-In-Human Trials

BORDEAUX, France–(BUSINESS WIRE)–FineHeart S.A, a preclinical medical device company that has developed the ICOMS FLOWMAKER®, a fully Implantable Cardiac Output Management System designed to address the unmet need of patients suffering from severe heart failure, today announced appointment of two experienced medical device experts to support the company’s next clinical and industrial phases.

“We are very proud to welcome two internationally renowned executives who have both played a major role in the development and manufacturing of breakthrough implantable devices. Each of them has been captivated by the technological and clinical progress that the ICOMS FLOWMAKER® represents. Their arrival gives us even more confidence as we head to the First-In-Human implantation our device, scheduled for 2023. I am also very pleased that Sophie Jonquière has joined us thereby enhancing the feminization of our management committee, in line with our parity objectives. Furthermore, their arrival reinforces our ability to expand our industrial production capacities as we grow.” declared Arnaud Mascarell, CEO & co-founder of FineHeart.

Guillaume Buc, Chief Technical Officer
Before joining FineHeart, Guillaume was Technical and R&D Director at Pixium Vision for more than 9 years. His expertise and passion were instrumental in the development of the PRIMA retinal implant, which is now in its commercialization phase. Prior to that, he held several strategic management positions at GE Healthcare in Europe for more than 25 years, before becoming Technical Director of the Interventional Cardiology Department. Guillaume holds an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique in applied mathematics, and from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris in image processing and computer science.

“Few projects in healthcare have as many innovative features as the ICOMS FLOWMAKER®. The scientific and technological breakthroughs achieved, based on the exceptional vision of FineHeart’s founders, are colossal and unprecedented in the field of cardiac assist pumps. I am honored to lead the technical team of this company that is redefining the future of cardiology.” said Guillaume Buc.

Sophie Jonquière, Chief Procurement & Supply Chain Officer
Sophie is a medical device manufacturing and supply chain specialist. For 15 years, she held various positions at Zimmer Biomet in the orthopedic implant activity, during the industrialization process, and then production management and distribution before heading up Manufacturing Operations for spinal implants and instruments for EMEA. She started her career as a Manufacturing Process Engineer at Hemodia. Sophie Jonquière is an engineer, Materials Science and Engineering from INSA Lyon, and a graduate of IAE Bordeaux, Business Management.

“I am delighted to bring my know-how in medical device manufacturing processes to this extremely exciting and ambitious project. The ICOMS FLOWMAKER® has everything it takes to change the lives of patients with severe heart failure, a disease impacting such a large number of people.” said Sophie Jonquière

About the ICOMS FLOWMAKER

The ICOMS FLOWMAKER® is the first fully intraventricular, wireless flow accelerator that provides physiological support synchronized with the heart’s natural contractions. It respects the natural blood flow and does not require aortic bypass surgery. It is the first miniaturized device – barely 10 cm in size – that is adjustable to patients’ needs, like a pacemaker, to treat patients with varying degrees of severity. It has no external driveline as it is recharged via a wireless transcutaneous energy transfer system (TET). The device is implanted using a minimally invasive beating-heart procedure, commonly performed by cardiac surgeons, which, on average lasts 90 minutes.

About FineHeart

FineHeart is a medical device company that is developing its innovative ground-breaking product, ICOMS FLOWMAKER®, with the potential to treat 200,000 patients with severe heart failure each year. First-In-Human trials are expected in 2023. FineHeart will initially target the 50,000 most severe patients who are eligible for cardiac assistance. Initial estimates value this market segment to be worth over US$5 billion.

Founded in 2010, FineHeart is based in Bordeaux employing close to 50 employees. It is led by a team of internationally renowned cardiac surgeons and electro-physiologists: Dr. Stéphane Garrigue, PhD, CSO co-inventor of ICOMS FLOWMAKER®; Dr. Philippe Ritter, MS, co-inventor of cardiac resynchronization (CRT); and Arnaud Mascarell, FineHeart’s CEO. The company holds a portfolio of 72 patents in 18 families.

FineHeart is supported by a wide pool of public and private industrial and independent investors: Lauak Group, Doliam, Med-INNOV, FineHeart Founders’ Holding representing domestic and international private investors, mainly from the cardiology sector, and the European investment fund Verve Ventures as well as historical shareholders Irdi, Aquiti, Galia, Broadview Ventures, and M Capital. FineHeart also benefits from the financial support of the European Union, Bpifrance, the New Aquitaine Region and the Centre Region.