These new patents complement the company's strong international portfolio of 20 families and more than 78 patents covering the concept, design, production and surgical implantation of the FLOWMAKER®, the world's first physiological heart assist device for the treatment of severe heart failure, designed by French rhythm and electrophysiology cardiologists.

In line with FineHeart's strategy to offer a minimally invasive, effective and durable implantable solution to the largest number of patients suffering from severe heart failure, these first Chinese patents open the doors to a vast and rapidly expanding market.

With a 360% growth in medical device imports over the past 10 years, the Chinese healthcare market is undergoing a profound transformation to meet the growing needs of its aging population. With more than 200 million people over 65 years old, they are becoming the largest consumers of healthcare products. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, affecting more than 300 million Chinese patients, of whom approximately 14 million suffer from severe heart failure.

With a favorable economic and regulatory environment for medical device innovation, both domestic and international, and attractive reimbursement opportunities, FineHeart's FLOWMAKER® perfectly meets the needs of the Chinese mechanical ventricular assist market.

With its radically innovative design, the FLOWMAKER® is much easier to manage than LVADs. Using the native contraction of the heart, this miniature heart pump operates physiologically, without intraventricular bypass; its 70 g battery requires little energy and is recharged through the skin, avoiding any risk of infection. The FLOWMAKER® can be implanted with a beating heart, thanks to a minimally invasive surgical procedure well mastered in China, thus limiting physiological modifications. The FLOWMAKER® assists the heart, adapts to the evolution of the pathology, and can be easily removed, without critical risk for the patient.

For Dr. Stéphane Garrigue, cardiologist, CSO, co-founder of FineHeart and co-inventor of the FLOWMAKER®: "Our miniature, mini-invasive, fully implantable left ventricular assistance system represents hope for thousands of patients with severe heart failure. With the FLOWMAKER®, our ambition is to enable them to recover their vital functions and regain significant autonomy, while freeing them from the constraints and complications associated with current devices or those under development.”

“We are extremely proud of being granted these patents in China, where the aging population is facing a resurgence of cardiovascular diseases. It highlights the technological advances of our device and allows us to envisage an effective treatment for patients with severe heart failure in this country, once we have completed the clinical steps that will start soon. Our intellectual property portfolio is a key asset for our future development. We will continue to put in place strong barriers to entry to protect our market from competition," said Arnaud Mascarell, CEO and co-founder of FineHeart.