Relief Cardiovascular Announces $12M Series A Financing to Advance First-in-Human Study of the Relief System

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Relief Cardiovascular, an inQB8 Medical Technologies portfolio company pioneering innovative solutions for the management of heart failure, today announced the closing of a $12M Series A financing. The funding round was co-led by Broadview Ventures and Advent Life Sciences, with participation from Pacific Health Investment, Heartwork Capital, and an undisclosed multinational strategic. The funds will support further product development and the initiation of the company's first-in-human feasibility study, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Relief System – a transcatheter smart implant designed to monitor and modulate renal vein pressures, offering a novel approach to fluid management in heart failure.

As part of the financing, Shahzad Malik, MD, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, and Maria Berkman, MD, Head of Medtech at Broadview Ventures, will join the company's Board of Directors.

"Heart failure continues to impose a tremendous burden on patients and healthcare systems," said Maria Berkman, MD. "The Relief System addresses a critical gap in patient care, and we are proud to partner with the team at Relief Cardiovascular to advance this novel therapy into the clinic."

"Relief Cardiovascular's innovative approach to volume management tackles the unmet needs of diuretic-resistant heart failure," said Shahzad Malik, MD. "The Relief System's ability to dynamically modulate renal vein pressures offers the potential to redefine treatment and improve outcomes for patients facing limited options."

The Relief System employs a transcatheter implant to reduce renal vein pressure using an innovative "puller" mechanism, paired with integrated sensors that autonomously capture renal vein pressures and multiparametric data. The system provides physicians with actionable data for optimizing fluid management and offers tailored therapeutic device-driven intervention.

"The Relief System's ability to integrate monitoring and therapeutic modulation of renal pressures represents a promising advance in volume management in heart failure," said William T. Abraham, MD, Professor of Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Alex Rothman, MD, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sheffield, added, "By enabling data-driven adjustments, the Relief System empowers more personalized and effective care for patients, particularly those with diuretic resistance."

"This financing marks a pivotal milestone for us as we advance the Relief System into human clinical studies," said Alex Cooper, CEO of Relief Cardiovascular. "We're honored to have the support of world-class investors and clinicians, along with industry veterans like Michael Minogue. With Shahzad and Maria joining our board, our team is positioned to transform the management and treatment of heart failure."

About Relief Cardiovascular
Relief Cardiovascular is a privately held medical device company committed to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure. The company's flagship technology, the Relief System, is a transcatheter smart implant designed to enhance fluid management and improve quality of life for heart failure patients. Relief Cardiovascular was founded and incubated within inQB8 Medical Technologies, LLC.

About Broadview Ventures
Broadview Ventures is a mission-driven investment organization that makes targeted investments in early-stage companies to accelerate the development of innovative therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Broadview is funded by the Leducq Charitable Trust. For more information, please visit www.broadviewventures.org

About Advent Life Sciences
Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of experienced professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the US and Europe and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France. For more information, please visit www.Adventls.com

About inQB8 Medical Technologies

inQB8 Medical Technologies is a privately held medical device incubator based in Massachusetts, co-founded by Dr. Arshad Quadri, MD, and J. Brent Ratz, MBA. inQB8 specializes in developing cutting-edge interventional solutions for major cardiovascular diseases, accelerating projects through prototyping, bench, and pre-clinical testing.

For inquiries, contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Relief Cardiovascular