Groundbreaking therapy for advanced heart failure
Repairon receives Series A funding for further clinical development of the heart patch
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With its "heart patch", the German biotech company Repairon GmbH is pursuing a globally unique therapeutic approach for people with advanced heart failure that has the potential to restore the heart's pumping function. The Göttingen-based company has now received substantial Series A financing for the further development of the innovative cell therapy - with Bioventure Management GmbH as lead investor and co-investor Satorius AG as strategic partners. The decisive factors were convincing preclinical data recently published in the scientific journal Nature and positive interim results of the clinical phase 1/2 trial. The new funds will enable the preparation of the phase 3 registration study and the scaling up of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) production in cooperation with Satorius AG. Repairon is cooperating closely with the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) for the development and clinical testing of the heart patch.
The heart patch
Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Eva Meyer-Besting
The heart patch: pioneering work with global potential
The heart patch consists of laboratory-grown heart muscle tissue (Engineered Heart Muscle, EHM), which is sewn onto the damaged heart muscle during a minimally invasive procedure. It grows together with the heart muscle and permanently strengthens the organ's function. The therapeutic approach was developed at the UMG and is considered unique worldwide. The first clinical applications began in early 2021. In July 2025, recruitment for the interim analysis of the Phase 2 clinical trial BioVAT-HF (Biological Ventricular Assist Tissue in terminal Heart Failure)-DZHK204 was completed (treatment of 15 patients in the highest dose group), thus achieving an important clinical milestone.
Strategic partnership strengthens clinical perspective
The preclinical data published in Nature in early 2025 demonstrate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the procedure in the primate model. In addition, this work also demonstrated for the first time heart muscle augmentation via heart patch implantation in patients. These results, together with the positive interim data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial, form the basis for Bioventure's Series A financing. Dr. Erik Hoppe, Managing Director of Bioventure, comments: "Repairon stands for visionary research with social relevance. The company has the potential to fundamentally change cardiac medicine." With the current financing, Repairon will prepare the European Phase 3 approval study for the heart patch and start scaling up GMP production in cooperation with life science specialist Sartorius AG.
High medical need for advanced heart failure
Chronic heart failure of any severity affected around 5% of the population in Germany in 2023 and is the third most common cause of death in the country. In advanced heart failure, patients suffer from symptoms during all physical activities and at rest, and may even be bedridden. Until now, the only treatment options available for these seriously ill patients have been mechanical pump systems or heart transplants. "The heart patch offers the prospect of reversing the course of the disease and significantly improving quality of life. For the first time, we see the opportunity to treat a previously incurable disease causally - with real benefits both for patients around the world and for healthcare systems," explains Dr. Lothar Germeroth, CEO Repairon.
Potentially life-changing therapy
The vision of "repairing" the muscle damaged by heart failure with heart muscle tissue produced in the laboratory goes back to Prof. Dr. Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann and his team at the UMG: "After more than 30 years of research, we are looking forward to the phase 3 trial with great hope. Patients with advanced heart failure are under a great deal of suffering with the therapies currently available. By rebuilding the heart muscle using heart patches, we hope to achieve a lasting improvement in physical performance and quality of life," says the Director of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the UMG.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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