Xeltis implantable growing heart valves

February 9, 2022

Xeltis, one of our consortium partners, focuses on the development of implantable, growing heart valves. It starts with an implant, but step by step the body absorbs the artificial valve and builds a new, natural valve around it. In this way, the patient forms his own tissue inside the Xeltis heart valve, creating a new, natural and fully functional heart valve. The first successes of this formula have also led to the fact that the bioabsorbable polymers that make Xeltis’ heart valves are now used for the formation of blood vessels.

The valves are in clinical trial phases in the EU, Asia and the US and the first patients have now reached their 5-year follow-up. The company has raised nearly $100 million in funding in several rounds. Of the 50 employees, 45 work on the TU/e campus, where the research is conducted.

“Everyone knows someone who has had an angioplasty or a bypass of the clogged blood vessels around the heart”, says co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Martijn Cox. “Such operations are done millions of times a year worldwide. The procedure is then that one or two blood vessels from the patient’s own leg are used. The surgery required causes scars and discomfort. The vessels tend to close up again after a while.”

“We have now devised an alternative based on our technology. New patient-own tissue grows in artificial blood vessels. This tissue slowly takes over its tasks again. Where normally the problem is that deposit against the vascular walls causes the vessel to silt up again, you see much better results with our biocompatible materials.”

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