Could This Company's Device Be What the Cardiology Market Has Been Yearning For? Company Touts it as a Lifesaver

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Heart-related diseases are the leading cause of death globally and have been for years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by the end of 2021, almost 18 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

— CVDs are the leading cause of death globally.

— An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were the result of heart attacks and strokes.

— More than ¾ of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries.

— Out of the 17 million premature deaths (younger than age 70) resulting from non-communicable diseases in 2019, 38% were caused by CVDs.

Heart Failure is one of the biggest problems within CVD, with over 6 million patients suffering from this disease, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2019 alone, 379,800 (13.4%) died from the disease.

The average medical cost for heart failure care per patient in America is $24,383 — a cost-driven by heart failure-specific hospitalizations that cost about $15,879 per patient. The cost of care in 2020 was $43.6 billion and is projected to increase to $69.7 billion by 2030, bigger than any other disease. And yet, there are few solutions to monitor Heart Failure patients at home, where they are the most vulnerable. Imagine, not knowing if you should go to the ER or wait it out.

Future Cardia says the biggest problem for patients with Heart Failure is that we lack quantifiable and actionable data to monitor our patients remotely.

The Problem

Patients with heart failure have weakened heart muscles whose job is to pump blood throughout the body. As the pump begins to fail, fluid slowly accumulates in the lungs, resulting in difficulty breathing and frequent hospitalizations.

Heart failure emergencies are a $21 billion per year problem, and a lack of remote monitoring solutions makes it difficult for patients and healthcare providers to address crises. They are stuck between real emergencies and false alarms and do not know when serious breathing problems will result because there’s no viable monitoring solution.

An invasive heart procedure device like CardioMEMS (acquired in 2014 by Abbott for $455m) HF System by Abbott Laboratories ABT is the current standard; however, CardioMEMS requires a sensor implant inside the heart or around the heart (pulmonary artery) in a catheter laboratory procedure. Although accurate, it is expensive, complex, and not the ideal solution for all patients.

Wearable monitors are ideal for short-term solutions. However, for long-term monitoring, they are not used due to low accuracy, low patient compliance, and lack of data. That’s why they are rarely used in medical settings.

A Solution?

Future Cardia has reportedly developed a tiny insertable cardiac monitor for a long-term heart failure monitoring solution to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations to solve this crucial problem.

The device is designed to provide comprehensive, actionable, and quantifiable data analysis to doctors and clinicians. It offers cardiologists the ability to monitor their heart failure patients using remote monitoring technology. Each device yields billions of data points, allowing healthcare providers to compare trending changes for continuous cardiac monitoring over 2 to 3 years.

The device is delivered through a 2-minute office procedure via a small incision under the skin and covered with a band-aid. No follow-ups are needed — saving time for both patients and cardiologists. The technique brings simplicity, accuracy, and high compliance for long-term monitoring.

It is equipped with an acoustic sensor to listen to heart and lung sounds, an electrocardiogram (ECG) for heart rhythms, and a 3-axis accelerometer that records activity, posture, and body orientation. All the data is securely sent to the phone and a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) for the cardiologist to monitor heart failure remotely.

By tracking trends in ECG and heart sounds readings, physicians can detect heart failure decompensation before the onset of symptoms. This can give them actionable data to steer the patient away from further complications.

Future Cardia’s Device 

— Detects early signs of heart failure problems before symptoms

— Pre-clinical testing with 26 heart failure patients

— Preparing for a human clinical trial for 2022

— Balanced team of cardiologists, engineers, and scientists

— 180 years of combined expertise in cardiology, heart failure, and implantable devices development

Simple Go-To-Market Plan

Future Cardia expects the highest volume regions such as Texas and Florida to generate $5.5 million within 2 years of launch. The device will retail for $5,300 per unit to the hospital with an established reimbursement of $7,400 (insurance coverage). With this business model, the company projects its first implants will generate $26 million in revenue within 4 years.
Future Cardia is currently running a crowdfunding campaign via StartEngine. The company reports that so far it has made notable achievements:

— World-renowned cardiologists, engineers, and scientists: with over 180 years of combined expertise in cardiology and medical devices development with multiple exits and one IPO.

— Raised $4M ($3.3m on Republic and $700K from Super Angels) in 2021 to disrupt the $5B Heart Failure monitoring market.

— Stanford StartX: is the premier accelerator program in the world with one of the highest success rates along with 10 startups achieving unicorn status in the past 12 years. StartX companies have a combined valuation of over $30B and 92% survival rate. Over 300 Silicon Valley mentors participate in the program.

— Johnson and Johnson's JLABS: is a global network of open innovation ecosystems, enabling and empowering innovators to accelerate the delivery of life-saving, life-enhancing health and wellness solutions to patients around the world. JLABS companies have a combined valuation of $9.4B. Five IPOs, Eight acquisitions.

You should read the Offering Circular (link) and Risks (link) related to this offering before investing. This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA (link)/SIPC (link). This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.

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The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.