Bridgeford LLC client, medical device company Annoviant (formerly TGen Tech LLC) LLC has been awarded a $1.85 million SBIR Phase II Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The two-year grant is intended by the NIH to further Annoviant’s development and commercialization of the TxGuard pulmonary valve conduit and is follow-up funding of the technology from a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer grant Annoviant was awarded in 2019.

This technology is designed to treat Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) in pediatric patients, a condition affecting 40,000 newborns annually in the U.S.

The conduit is designed to resist early degeneration of host cells while allowing for the regeneration of host cells, which enables the device to grow with children. Conduit valve replacements are primarily used in cases of absent pulmonary valves, aortic stenosis, pulmonary valve replacements and other issues associated with CHD.

In addition to affecting 40,000 newborns in the U.S. annually, the condition affects approximately 1.3 million children worldwide each year and accounts for 4 to 6 percent of neonatal deaths.

Traditionally, children living with CHD undergo from three to five cardiovascular surgeries in their lifetimes. Annoviant’s new valve conduit technology could dramatically increase survival rates and long-term quality of life for those children, while reducing health care costs for treatment of CHD.

Learn more about Annoviant’s and it’s NIH-supported research here.