Heartseed Raises $37 Million in Series C Funding to Accelerate Development of iPSC-derived Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Failure

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heartseed, a Tokyo-based biotechnology company developing iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for heart failure (HF), today announced it has raised 4 Billion-yen (approx. $37 Million) at Series C round, bringing its total financial backing to 8.2 Billion yen (approx. $75 Million) since its foundation in 2015.

New investors are UTokyo Innovation Platform Co. (UTokyo IPC), Medical Incubator Japan, Keio Innovation Initiative (KII), and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment. Among the existing investors, SBI Group, Nissay Capital, SMBC Capital, Medipal Holdings, and Itochu Chemical Frontier participated in this round.

Heartseed will use the new funds to accelerate the initiation of global clinical trial of HS-001 for HF as well as to confirm its proof of concept in Phase 1/2 LAPiS study in Japan. Additionally, Heartseed will also examine a less invasive administration such as transendocardial injection using a catheter.

“Heartseed has made a strong progress in our research and development of our cardiac remuscularization therapy, as proved by the clearance of clinical trial application of Phase I/II LAPiS Study by the Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Agency and many awards we received.” said Professor. Keiichi Fukuda, co-founder and CEO at Heartseed. “The commitment from both new and existing investors in this round is a strong validation of our technology and strategic vision. With their support, we look forward to accelerating our development to deliver potentially curative therapy for heart failure across the globe.”

About HS-001

Heartseed's lead pipeline, HS-001, is allogeneic iPSC-derived, highly purified ventricular cardiomyocyte spheroids. By forming micro-tissue-like spheroids, retention rate and viability of cell transplant are improved. The spheroids are transplanted using a special administration needle (SEEDPLANTER®) and guide adapter developed for safe and efficient administration of the spheroids into the myocardial layer of the heart.

The expected mechanism of action is that the transplanted cardiomyocytes electrically couple with the patient's myocardium to improve cardiac output by remuscularization, and secretion of angiogenic factors to form new blood vessels around the transplant site (neovascularization).

The review of the Clinical Trial Application of a phase I/II clinical trial (LAPiS Study) evaluating the safety and efficacy of HS-001 for the treatment of heart failure caused by ischemic heart disease in Japan was successfully completed in March 2021 by Japan's Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency.

For details: http://www.heartseed.jp/en/index.html