Globally, heart disease remains the main leading cause of death, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives yearly.[1] For those suffering from mitral and tricuspid valve diseases, highly invasive and traumatic traditional surgery has been the standard go-to treatment option. Due to the high risk associated with surgery and the heterogeneity of the patients, more than 40% of MR patients get rejected from surgery. Current treatment options also yield suboptimal outcome, with implantation success as low as 64%, mortalities up to 39%, with common complications such as valve migration, all contributing to a dramatically underserved market.

“Open heart surgery is traumatic and an unrealistic treatment option for many – there is significant need for better options for patients to address their heart valve disease…”

Dan Wallace, Capstan Medical Co-founder & CTO

GT Healthcare Capital Partners is excited to report on the immense progress on one of our portfolio companies - Capstan Medical.Since its inception in 2020, Capstan Medical has amassed cutting edge technology and a seasoned team led by Maggie Nixon, Dan Wallace, and David Schummers, who were key contributors to the success of several key paradigm-shifting technology systems at Intuitive Surgical, Auris Health, Cephea, etc. Specifically, Capstan Medical revolutionizes mitral valve treatment delivery via robotics technologies, allowing minimally invasive surgeries conducted with utmost precision, accuracy, and predictability within a beating heart.

“Success requires precise valve technology…We’re going for precise, predictable and compact by leveraging robotics architecture.”

Maggie Nixon, Capstan Medical CEO

Apart from delivery precision, size is also of essence in ensuring clinical outcome. The mitral valve implant developed by Capstan has an outer diameter of less than 31Fr when compressed inside the catheter. This increases control during placement and reduces vascular and septal trauma. Its ventricular depth of less than 10mm resolves left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOT), a predominant barrier for treatment. This novel innovation has garnered strong interest, as validated by investors such as Eclipse, Intuitive Ventures and Puma Venture Capital. 

Capstan Medical already locked down their system in a design freeze for verification and validation, and will progress to in-human testings. Beyond mitral intervention, Capstan Medical is also eyeing the tricuspid valve, with a design, as Nixon excitedly tells, that is “ready to go into full development mode”. 

We look forward to witnessing Capstan Medical’s continued evolution as they pave the way for patient-optimized innovations in heart valve repair and replacement. Hope is on the horizon.  

About Capstan Medical

Founded in 2020, Capstan Medical is creating a new standard for minimally invasive, heart valve intervention. The company is developing a suite of next-generation heart valve implants and a first of its kind catheter-based robotic delivery platform. For more information, visit https://capstanmedical.com/

[1] https://www.who.int/health-topics/cardiovascular-diseases#tab=tab_1