Artificial heart maker Carmat implants 7 Aeson devices, shares rise

Reuters
Updated ·1 min read
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An artificial heart manufactured by French firm Carmat is seen during the company's news conference in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) -French artificial heart maker Carmat said on Monday it had implanted seven of its Aeson devices as part of a clinical study in Paris, sending its shares up almost 8%.

The company, which this month received a 7 million euro ($7.4 million) lifeline to avert an imminent cash crunch, said the pace of implants means it will be able to complete the study in 2025, in line with its targets.

“This ramp-up is the result of growing experience in patient selection and attests to the steep learning curve of the surgical procedure,” Professor Christian Latremouille, director of surgical affairs at Carmat, said in a press release.

The clinical study, called EFICAS, is a prospective study designed to include 52 patients eligible for transplants, currently enrolled by a network of six French cardiology centres, Carmat said.

The primary objective of the study is 180-day post-implantation survival without disabling stroke or successful heart transplant within 180 days of implantation, the company said.

The study also aims to assess state reimbursement of the device in France.

The shares in Carmat, which had dropped almost 70% this year, were up 7.8% at 3.36 euros in early trading.

($1 = 0.9457 euros)

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Michal Aleksandrowicz; editing by Janane Venkatraman and Jason Neely)