The CoApt Valve™

The ultimate goal for our latest veterinary medical device--The CoApt Valve™--is to provide a solution that can successfully treat dogs with severe degenerative valve disease, significantly extending the dog’s life expectancy and quality of life.

LESS PAINFUL • QUICKER RECOVERY • SIGNIFICANTLY LESS COSTLY

The CoApt Valve™ development process also includes a potential solution for human Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease. We are testing the valve in a naturally occuring animal model as a precursor to migrating the technology into the human marketplace.

Latest News

    • Eliachar Technologies Development located in Haifa Israel, a leading product development engineering firms agrees to oversee product design and development

    • The Electrospinning Company located in Didcot UK, is signed to manufacture the valve’s apron

    • ViVitro Labs, a world-renowned cardiovascular device testing laboratory located in Victoria Canada and specializing in cardiac pulse duplication and durability testing signs on

    • QTest Labs, a CRO that specializes in efficacy, cardiovascular safety and risk assessment for pharmaceutical and medical device development is retained

    • LifeTec Group, Eindhoven Netherlands, a preclinical CRO and the home of the Cardiac BioSimulator signs on

    • Cardiovascular Research Foundation, a state-of-the-art cardiac research center located in Orangeburg, NY dedicated to identifying, developing, and promoting the latest advancements in the treatment of heart disease becomes part of our team

    • Valve frame is a self expanding nitinol frame

    • Valve material is an electrospun polymer (50 microns in thickness). Designed for superior flexibility, durability and promotes endothelializtion

    • The low-profile valve design allows for loading into a 9.5 Fr catheter (2.5 mm internal diameter), for delivery

    • The anchor system is comprised of three nitinol trebled anchors attached to flexible polymeric monofilament tethers

    • Complete system prototype is comprised of a table mount, transcatheter guiding device, catheter guiding sheath, and the newly designed CoApt Valve™

    • The CoApt Valve™ achieved positive results in benchtop post duplicator testing

    • CoApt Valve™ transcatheter implantation in a Cardiac BioSimulator: (LifTec Group, Eindhoven Netherlands, May & September 2023) provided positive proof of concept in an explanted pig heart model

    • CoApt Valve™ transcatheter implantation in purpose-bred dogs: (CRF, Orangeburg New York, December 2023). We deployed the first-in-the world transvenous transcatheter mitral valve in live dogs. Results showed excellent valve functioning without any thromboembolic complications over the course of the 30 day study

    • We are now scheduling our veterinary clinical studies stage which will also serve as a naturally occuring animal model of the human disease

    • George Kramer, DVM/DACVIM has been chosen by Lifescience Intelligence (LSI) as a global innovator to speak at LSI Europe, September 7-11, 2025 in London. He will be discussing the CoApt Valve™’s potential as a transcatheter device designed to treat severe mitral and tricuspid valve disease in humans without the need for open-heart surgery. Under the philosophy of “One Medicine, One Health, One World”, the CoApt Valve™ is being developed for both canine and human mitral valve disease.

    • Dr. Kramer will also be participating in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s on-demand series of presentations running from June through October 2025. He will be speaking on Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Valve Therapies.

    • Dr. Kramer’s abstract “Design and Development of the CoApt Valve™: A Novel Atrioventricular Valve Device” was accepted for an in-person presentation at NY Valves 2025, a comprehensive 3-day educational conference sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

See the Live Implantation of the CoApt Valve in a Beating Sheep Heart

June 20, 2025-ACVIM Forum, Louisville, KY

Our Mission in Developing a Solution for Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease

  • Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease is the most common valve disease in both canines and man, with very similar histopathology and natural history in both species

  • Each year there are approximately 2 million dogs in the United States alone that require therapy for Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease; as well as 2%-3% of the world’s human population including 7.8 million people in the U.S. alone and 14% of the elderly community

  • If left untreated, the disease leads to congestive heart failure, and death

  • There is no medical cure for the disease, the only definitive treatment is open heart mitral valve repair, which in the veterinary industry can cost upwards of $50,000

The CoApt Valve™ is the Solution

  • A transcatheter intracardiac device designed for placement within incompetent atrioventricular valve apparatus (mitral or tricuspid)

  • Reduces or eliminates the regurgitant jet associated with the incompetent valve, without open heart surgery

  • Designed to work in cooperation with the native valve leaflets without disrupting the important connection between the atrial annulus and the ventricle

  • Installed via catheterization of the dog’s jugular vein without opening the chest

  • Can be performed by any trained interventional cardiologist

  • The CoApt Valve™ system is patented and trademarked

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