Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, CA, USA), a leading company in medical innovations for structural heart disease and critical care, has acquired Innovalve Bio Medical LTD. (Ramat Gan, Israel), an early-stage transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) company. Innovalve, founded in 2017 at ARC Innovation, the innovation arm of Sheba Medical Center (Ramat Gan, Israel), has demonstrated progress in its program with promising early clinical experience since its initial investment by Edwards.

Innovalve was created by the pioneering efforts of Prof. Ehud Raanani, Director of Sheba’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center, and Dr. Boris Orlev, Head of Sheba’s Mitral Valve Surgery Unit. Under the leadership of CEO Eyal Bar-Or, Innovalve has benefited from close collaboration with Sheba’s clinicians and developers. This acquisition marks a significant step in the integration of cutting-edge technologies into Edwards’ transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies (TMTT) product group. Combined with Edwards’ existing mitral innovations, the acquisition enhances the company’s TMVR technologies to address large unmet structural heart patient needs and support sustainable long-term growth. Edwards is developing a portfolio of transcatheter repair and replacement therapies designed to address mitral and tricuspid valve diseases. The company is committed to transforming the treatment of mitral and tricuspid patients, supported by a robust body of clinical evidence. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2024.

“Building on our learnings of the complexity of mitral disease, we know there is a need for a differentiated range of therapies for these patients,” said corporate vice president, Daveen Chopra who leads the TMTT product group at Edwards. “Edwards’ SAPIEN M3 remains on track to become the first approved transfemoral TMVR system in Europe by the end of 2025. We believe the Innovalve technologies, paired with Edwards’ deep mitral expertise, will enable a TMVR platform that will expand the treatable population.”

“The health system is an engine of economic growth for the Israeli economy. Innovalve’s exit joins other Sheba companies acquired in recent months by international biomed giants, which have repeatedly expressed confidence in innovation coming out of Sheba,” said Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, Director General of Sheba Medical Center. “These achievements are made possible thanks to ARC – Sheba’s unique innovation platform, which encourages the development of groundbreaking technologies through the combination of technological entrepreneurship and extensive clinical knowledge and experience at the patient’s bedside. Soon we will see more and more deals of this kind, the fruits of which strengthen and develop the public health system. This is a real revolution that transforms the health system, which for years had to budget for the state, into a factor that generates significant revenues for the Israeli economy.” 

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