Medical device company 4C Medical Technologies Inc. announced last week that it has closed on $10 million in convertible note financing. The company is raising money to continue developing its signature product, the AltaValve.
The round was led by Yonghua Capital, a Shanghai-based venture firm. According to a Form D filing with the SEC, 4C began raising money in May.
"The addition of our newest China-based investor reflects 4C Medical's commitment to bring AltaValve to the largest medical device markets in the world," 4C CEO Bob Thatcher said in a statement.
Related: Read the Form D here.
The AltaValve is a self-expanding stent that treats mitral valve regurgitation, a heart condition that mainly affects older people and causes blood to flow backward in the heart. 4C also announced that it's developed a delivery system for the AltaValve that it will introduce to its ongoing feasibility studies. The AltaValve has yet to be approved by the FDA.
The early feasibility study will end its enrollment around next year, Thatcher said. 4C will begin its pivotal trial in early- to mid-2023, the results of which will determine if the AltaValve gets FDA approval. Thatcher expects that approval to come sometime in 2026 or 2027.
Other companies, including in Minnesota, are also working on devices that treat mitral valve regurgitation. What sets 4C apart is that the AltaValve is less invasive than other products on the market and preserves two parts of the heart, the native mitral valve and the left ventricle, that other products have to fixate on. That means the AltaValve is available to a much wider percentage of the patient population than other devices, Thatcher said.
Founded in 2016, Maple Grove-based 4C has now raised $53 million, Thatcher said. 4C completed its $17 million Series A round in 2018; it also raised around $8 million last year and a $9 million seed round from Canadian angel investor Anges Québec and friends and family. 4C has 30 employees.
