Anteris’ DurAVR THV Used in Valve-in-Valve Procedure

July 31, 2023—Anteris Technologies Ltd, an Australia-based structural heart company, announced that the DurAVR transcatheter heart valve (THV) was used for the first time in a valve-in-valve (ViV) procedure as part of Health Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP). The SAP exists so that life-saving technology not currently available for commercial use in Canada can be provided when no other commercially available alternatives are suitable, noted the company.

According to Anteris, the DurAVR THV is a new class of biomimetic heart valve. It is a balloon-expandable, single-piece transcatheter aortic valve shaped to mimic the performance of a native human aortic valve for the treatment of aortic stenosis. The DurAVR THV is used with the company’s ComASUR delivery system.

Anita Asgar, MD, who is Codirector of the Structural Heart Program at the Institut de Cardiologie de Montreal in Montreal, Canada, made the request to Health Canada to use the DurAVR THV in a patient with a failing valve that needed optimal hemodynamic results. The patient had a short frame height and were very high risk of poor hemodynamic result with a conventional ViV procedure. Dr. Asgar performed the procedure on the patient—who was a man in his mid 80s—and implanted a DurAVR THV inside the failed surgical aortic valve replacement device.

The company reported that the procedure was successful with outstanding hemodynamic performance of the valve in a complex patient. The patient had an 88% reduction in mean gradient which brought the patient back to a near-normal physiologic state, with a final gradient of only 6 mm Hg after deploying the valve. These results mirror what has been seen with DurAVR THV in its extensive ViV bench-top studies, noted Anteris.

“The DurAVR THV provided a life-saving solution for a patient requiring a new valve to be implanted without compromising hemodynamic performance or future coronary access,” commented Dr. Asgar in Anteris’ press release. “These hemodynamic results are not seen with currently available products, which is important as there is a large need for a valve that can offer optimal hemodynamic performance in the ViV setting, particularly with a shorter frame height.”

Dr. Asgar continued, “Additionally, despite this being an incredibly complex case, using Anteris’ ComASUR delivery system and deploying the valve was remarkably easy. The unique design of DurAVR, including the low frame height and the single-piece design, makes the valve well-suited to address the needs of ViV patients.”