Edwards Lifesciences exercised a 2015 option to buy Harpoon, a spin-off from the University of Maryland's School of Medicine, for $100m up-front and up to $150m more in milestones, to add Harpoon's beating-heart mitral valve surgery technology to its growing pipeline of transcatheter and surgical mitral valve repair and replacement devices. The deal also validates the investing approach of Epidarex Capital, one of Harpoon's early investors, which looks for early-stage medtech opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Less invasive transcatheter techniques will increasingly displace older, riskier open-heart procedures in the treatment of heart valve disease, according to a new Meddevicetracker report. By 2021, transcatheter systems will account for 76% of the global market for heart valve disease treatment products, with the US retaining its current dominant position in this sector.

Recent executive-level company changes and promotions in the biopharma, medical device and diagnostics industries.

The global market for products treating heart valve disease is expected to exceed $8bn by 2021, driven largely by the rising number of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease, obesity and growing prevalence of diabetes. This, in turn, is fueling significant innovation in minimally invasive techniques, particularly in the leading area of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), but also in transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVrep) systems, both of which offer patients quicker recovery times, less discomfort and greater safety compared to traditional surgical heart valve repair and replacement. This feature looks more closely at the competitive landscape and dynamics of these two fast-growing market segments, as well as gives insight into what the users – the physicians – think of these technologies.