The US FDA has approved Medtronic’s Harmony Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve (TPV) System to treat severe pulmonary regurgitation in pediatric and adult patients who have a native or surgically repaired right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT).
The Harmony TPV is the first nonsurgical heart valve to treat severe pulmonary valve regurgitation, which is common in patients with congenital heart disease.
The Harmony valve, which was granted breakthrough device designation, is a 22 mm or 25 mm porcine pericardium valve, sewn to a nitinol frame. It is implanted with a 25-French delivery system using a coil-loading catheter.
The FDA approval was based on the 70-patient prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter Harmony TPV Clinical study, in which 100% of patients achieved the primary safety endpoint of no procedure or device-related deaths 30 days after implantation.
Among 65 patients with evaluable echocardiographic data, 89.2% met the primary effectiveness endpoint of no additional surgical or interventional device-related procedures and acceptable heart blood flow at 6 months.
Adverse events included irregular or abnormal heart rhythms in 23.9% of patients, including 14.1% ventricular tachycardia; leakage around the valve in 8.5%, including 1.4% major leakage; minor bleeding in 7.0%, narrowing of the pulmonary valve in 4.2%, and movement of the implant in 4.2%.
The Harmony TPV device is contraindicated for patients with an infection in the heart or elsewhere, for patients who cannot tolerate blood thinning medicines, and for those with a sensitivity to nitinol (titanium or nickel).
Source: FDA