CardioFocus expands HeartLight partnership deal with Japan Lifeline

CardioFocus said today it is expanding its partnership deal with Japan Lifeline to increase the scope of its Japanese commercialization efforts and to explore commercialization of its HeartLight System in other Asia Pacific markets.

The Marlborough, Mass.-based company’s HeartLight system is designed to allow electrophysiologists to control the delivery of laser energy through direct visual guidance to isolate pulmonary veins with a high procedural flexibility. The device includes a compliant balloon to accommodate diverse PV anatomies and has a short learning curve to allow for quick adoption of the tech, the company said.

“In Japan, physicians are responding very positively to the HeartLight System. We are eager to continue the commercial launch and bring this revolutionary new treatment to more AF patients,” Japan Lifeline prez & CEO Keisuke Suzuki said in a prepared statement.

The two companies originally inked a partnership deal in 2014, and expanded it last July after Cardiofocus won approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the HeartLight device.

CardioFocus said that since receiving approval last year, initial commercial cases using the device have been completed at four hospitals, and that it expects a full commercial launch of the device some time this year after receiving national reimbursement in the region.

“We greatly value this partnership with JLL and the momentum it has created for the HeartLight System in Japan and look forward to offering it in additional Asia Pacific markets. This expanded agreement will help CardioFocus achieve its long-term goals as a company committed to leading in the field of PVI,” CardioFocus exec chair Paul LaViolette said in a press release.

With the newly expanded agreement, JLL has made a “substantial financial investment” in Cardiofocus which it said will be used to accelerate market expansion of the HeartLight device and support development of a third generation product, which it hopes to begin testing in clinical evaluations in Europe this year.

Last September, CardioFocus said it won CE Mark approval for its HeartLight Excalibur balloon, designed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

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