Cleveland Clinic Spin-Off Company, Cleveland Heart Inc., Receives ...

Cleveland Clinic Spin-Off Company, Cleveland Heart
Inc., Receives $30 Million Investment for Development
of Artificial Heart
AUGUST 14, 2012, CLEVELAND, OHIO
Cleveland Heart, Inc., a Cleveland Clinic Innovations spin-off company, has received a $30 million
investment that will fund further development and clinical trials for a total artificial heart.
Power Heart Consortium, a Korean private-equity group, made the investment to further the
development of the SmartHeart Total Artificial Heart, which is a total artificial heart and left
ventricular assist device (LVAD) designed for long-term, durable use in patients suffering from
biventricular heart failure.
The investment will allow Cleveland Heart, Inc. - a joint venture between Cleveland Clinic and
TransWorld Medical Devices, LLC - to continue international clinical trials, expand laboratory
research and implement new design concepts for the SmartHeart.
Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the corporate venturing arm of Cleveland Clinic, is responsible for
company creation, business development and commercialization of all medical technology
throughout Cleveland Clinic. The $30 million investment is the largest that a Cleveland Clinic
Innovations spin-off has received from a single investor. Cleveland Clinic also has invested in
Cleveland Heart.
"Cardiovascular disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the world and the No.
1 killer in the U.S.," said Thomas Graham, M.D., Chief Innovation Officer and Justice Family Chair in
Medical Innovations and Cleveland Clinic Innovations. "Developing innovations to treat patients who
are living with heart failure is an imperative, and this investment will enable Cleveland Heart to
further develop and extend its research."
Roughly 23 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, with two million new cases each year.
About 50 percent of patients with Class IV heart failure die within one year of its onset. Currently, the
only long-term treatment is a heart transplant. About 2,500 patients in the United States receive a
heart transplant annually, and more than 25,000 people die every year while waiting for a donor
heart.

Since it was established in 2000, Cleveland Clinic Innovations has filed over 1,600 patents, has
more than 300 active licenses and has 48 spin-off companies that have received more than $600
million in equity investment. Nearly 1,000 jobs have been generated as a result of Cleveland Clinic
Innovations and its spin-offs, having a significant impact on the economic growth in Northeast Ohio.
"These resources will enable Cleveland Heart to significantly advance the development of its total
artificial heart system that has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of thousands of heart
failure patients," said Chris Coburn, Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations. "It is
wonderful to see how this investment will advance this breakthrough technology developed with
great effort by Cleveland Clinic cardiac surgeons, engineers and cardiologists."
Editor's Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews
and B-roll upon request.
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and
hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by
four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the
principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical
breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United
States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best
hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians
and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland
Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals
and 18 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for
Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and opening in 2013, Cleveland Clinic Abu
Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and
167,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100
countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.