Cardiovascular Research Foundation presents Aria with the Jon DeHaan Foundation
Cardiovascular Research Foundation presents Aria with the Jon DeHaan Foundation
Award for Interventional Innovation
Saint Paul, MN, October 5, 2018 – Aria CV, Inc., a developer of medical devices treating pulmonary arterial hypertension, a serious condition that leads to heart failure, was named winner of the 2018 TCT Shark Tank Competition.
Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) is the world’s largest conference specializing in interventional cardiology medicine. The Shark Tank competition at TCT highlights the most innovative concepts and technology developments with the potential to disrupt the field and dramatically change how patients are treated. Seven companies presented to the panel of judges that included leading experts in cardiology and venture capital. The companies were evaluated on: unmet clinical need, out-of-the-box concept, intellectual property position, biological proof of concept, regulatory pathway, and commercialization potential.
“In our study, Aria’s device worked well in patients who are on maximal drug therapy and have few therapeutic options. We look forward to our continued work with Aria CV and are excited by the prospect of helping people who suffer from this deadly condition, where there currently is no cure,” said Dr. Irene Lang, Principal Investigator on Aria studies, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
The medical device that won this award is a balloon placed in the pulmonary artery that inflates and deflates in conjunction with the heart cycle, easing the burden on the heart, providing symptom relief and potentially increasing survival chances of these patients. There is tremendous potential for the technology’s application to expand to an even larger population of patients where pulmonary hypertension develops as a complication of congestive heart failure and lung disease.
Currently approved treatment options for pulmonary arterial hypertension consist of costly vasodilating medications, which are often prescribed to help patients live a normal life but have only a modest effect on longevity. As the disease progresses, organ transplant of the lungs is currently the only option after other therapies have failed.
“We’re honored to have won this award, which recognizes our team’s dedication, innovation and research. This device not only has the potential to advance our understanding of how to treat pulmonary hypertension, but also allows us to provide patients a breakthrough approach in addressing this devastating disease,” said John Scandurra, CEO and President of Aria CV.
The Jon DeHaan Foundation provided the $200,000 cash award. The foundation is dedicated to supporting those working to advance cardiac medicine and provides grants and awards to individuals and companies who focus on innovative developments in cardiovascular medicine.
About Pulmonary Hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, a condition which causes increased workload on the heart, leading to right heart failure. In a common form of the disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension affects mostly women often in the prime of life. Even with currently approved therapy, it is considered a deadly progressive disease.
About Aria CV, Inc
Aria CV was founded in 2010 by Drs. John Scandurra and Karl Vollmers, following development work the two had done in the Innovation Fellows Program at the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center. Aria has an exclusive license to certain patents from the University of Minnesota. Aria is primarily funded by Catalyst Health Ventures, Broadview Ventures, BioStar Ventures, Cedar Point Capital and a medical device company. For additional information www.ariacv.com/
