NeoChord, Inc. (“NeoChord”) announced on October 4, 2021 that it successfully completed a first-in-human procedure with the NeXuS Transcatheter Mitral Chordal Repair (TMVr) device NeoChord is developing.  NeoChord also reported that the patient has been discharged from the hospital and is back to a normal lifestyle.

In a press release David Chung, President and Chief Executive Officer of NeoChord expressed enthusiasm for their achievement. “On behalf of our entire organization, I want to thank the collective team of physicians for bringing this first-in-human procedure to success. Coupled with our successful, clinical experience with the transapical device, this transcatheter milestone further establishes NeoChord as the leader for beating heart, off-pump mitral chordal repair, providing another tool for the Heart Teams to offer patients a surgically-proven technique with an interventional approach.”

Mitral regurgitation is believed to affect more than 2 million individuals and to be the most common valvular disorder in the United States.  According to some studies, mitral regurgitation is prevalent in more than 10% of adults over the age of 75.  NeoChord notes that, if left untreated, mitral regurgitation may lead to chronic heart failure – the leading cause of hospitalization in the U.S. and Europe.

This first-in-human procedure was performed at the University Hospital of Bordeaux in France in collaboration with the Universitätsmedizin Mainz Germany.  According to Thomas Modine, MD, University Hospital of Bordeaux and Ralph Stephan von Bardeleben, M.D., Universitätsmedizin Mainz, who both co-led the procedure, “the ability to replace a ruptured native chord by precisely placing suture in the mitral leaflet and securing with an anchor contributed to a very safe procedure.”

Azeem Latib, M.D., leading cardiologist from New York USA closely involved in the development of the TMVr device and procedure believes that “minimally invasive transcatheter chordal repair offers the promise of driving surgical-like results by maintaining the physiologic construction of the mitral valve, translating to better long-term outcomes.”