Catching up with Calypso: Breakthrough tech to help heart failure patients return to fully active lives

When the Calypso project ended in 2023, it had developed a heart pump aimed at providing much better quality of life for patients with advanced heart failure. We check in to see how production is coming along for the innovation.

Health

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CorWave, the French heart device company that led the EU-funded Calypso project, has entered the industrialisation phase for the cardiac pumps. In October 2023, the company inaugurated its facility in Clichy, near Paris. Occupying over 2 400 m², the premises house the headquarters, R&D centre and the first manufacturing facility – a key asset for starting the clinical and commercial stage. The facility focuses solely on the cardiac pumps’ production and assembly.

Designed to be expandable, the manufacturing facility is sized to produce up to 1 000 pumps yearly, representing potential revenue of about EUR 100 million. Ultimately, after an extension in the same building, production capacity could grow to 10 000 pumps per year, with potential revenue of EUR 1 billion.

Bringing to market a game-changing medical device

“The new industrial tool we inaugurated this past autumn marks the transition from our R&D phase to an industrial and clinical phase,” states Louis de Lillers, CEO of CorWave. Currently undergoing testing, the pump will assist healthcare professionals in saving patients with heart failure and offering them a more active life. Furthermore, it is expected to reduce the risks of serious complications and promote the remission of heart failure.

The cardiac pump is based on a unique technology: the wave membrane pump. “This radically innovative approach – protected by 15 patent families – is designed to address the main limitations of current solutions and ensure a pulsatile, physiological and self-adaptive flow,” explains de Lillers.

EU funding has had a considerable impact on Calypso’s success. “Thanks to the European Innovation Council Accelerator, CorWave became the first company in history to welcome the European Commission to its capital,” concludes de Lillers. “Beyond the funding itself (EUR 2.5 million grant and EUR 15 million equity), the support provided the company with significant added visibility and acted as a major lever to unlock investment from private actors.”

Keywords

Calypso, heart, heart failure, pump, heart pump, cardiac pump, medical device, healthcare