CARMAT receives FDA conditional approval to initiate the second cohort of the EFS study in the United States
April 14th 2025
Recruitment of the second cohort expected to begin in H2 2025
Paris, April 14, 2025 – 6:00 pm CEST
CARMAT (FR0010907956, ALCAR), designer and developer of the world’s most advanced total artificial heart, aiming to provide a therapeutic alternative for people suffering from advanced biventricular heart failure (the “Company” or “CARMAT”), today announces that it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate the second cohort of its Early Feasibility Study (EFS) with Aeson® artificial heart in the United States.
Stéphane Piat, Chief Executive Officer of CARMAT, stated: “The authorization to initiate the second cohort of our Early Feasibility Study (EFS) in the United States, received from the FDA, marks a very important milestone in CARMAT’s journey. It reflects Aeson® artificial heart’s quality and performance and its potential to address the unmet need expressed by healthcare professionals and patients around the world.
This authorization will allow U.S. patients to benefit from our therapy as early as the second half of 2025. It also represents a key step towards a potential commercial launch of Aeson® in the United States, which—subject to factors including the quality of our clinical results—could occur from 2028.
I would like to thank all our team for their contribution to this key achievement.“
Conditional approval to initiate the second cohort of the EFS study in the United States
The EFS study in the United States is a feasibility study involving a total of 10 patients eligible for heart transplant. The study’s primary endpoint is patient survival at 6 months post-Aeson® implant, or a successful transplant within this timeframe.
The study design includes two successive cohorts. The first cohort of 3 patients was completed in Q3 2021.
Following the completion of this initial cohort, CARMAT implemented enhancements to Aeson®, which were submitted to the FDA. All of these changes have now been reviewed and approved by the FDA, allowing CARMAT to start recruiting patients in the second cohort[1].
This second cohort will include a total of 7 patients, with an interim report on the first 3 implants.
Initiation of the second cohort expected in H2 2025
CARMAT will now take all necessary steps – including obtaining approvals from ethics committees[2] and refreshing the training of participating hospitals – with the objective to initiate implants in the second half of 2025.
Meanwhile, CARMAT will seek the FDA to approve Aeson®’s most recent version, currently used in Europe, in order to be able to use it in the EFS study.
This second part of the EFS study represents an important step in the Company’s US market access strategy, the United States being the largest market in the world in the field of implantable cardiac devices.
[1] In view of this, CARMAT is required, with no suspensive effect, to provide the FDA with a limited number of clarifications within 45 days.
[2] IRB – Institutional Review Board.