Open Stent Solution Closes Financing Round for Its TMVR Device

September 28, 2021—Open Stent Solution (OSS), a France-based medtech start-up company focused on open stent–designed heart valves, announced the closing of a €2.5 million seed financing round. The funds will support the development of the company’s ribbon-shaped stented mitral valve for transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR).

According to the company, the OSS device is designed to be implanted in large-size mitral valves through small delivery systems, comparable in size to best-in-class transcatheter aortic valve implantation devices. The valve components attach to a ribbon-shaped open stent that is intended to reduce the device’s overall size when loaded onto a delivery system compared to conventional, radially expanding devices. After being implanted, the OSS heart valve gets locked, forming a circular shape, with stable radial anchoring force similar to balloon-expandable devices.

The OSS funding round was led by Angels Santé, a French health business angel network; BeAngels, a Belgian business angel network; Bpifrance, the French government agency; and private investors including several cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.

The company was founded by senior cardiac surgeon and Chief Executive Officer Doron Carmi, MD. Dr. Carmi envisioned a novel approach to overcome the limitations of conventional cylindrical stents to treat patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation.

“We are grateful to our investors for their trust and for their support to our venture,” commented Dr. Carmi in the announcement. “The financing enables us to proceed to concept freeze for our unique minimally invasive solution. In a few years from now, we aim to offer an effective transfemoral solution to millions of patients with failed mitral valves who cannot access treatment today.”

Thomas Modine, cardiac surgeon at Hôpital Pont L’eveque in Bordeaux, France, added, “The lack of a TMVR treatment is a serious concern when we look at patients with secondary mitral valve regurgitation, as it is unfortunately associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates. A transcatheter solution is very much needed, and OSS’s unique approach seems to potentially address the specific anatomical challenges of the mitral space, such as sizing, due to a dilated ventricle, and the need of a flexible device.”