CorWave Taps Industry Veterans to Drive Next-Gen Heart Pump to Market

CLICHY, FRANCE – March 31, 2026 – French medtech pioneer CorWave is signaling a significant shift from research and development to aggressive commercialization, strengthening its leadership team with two high-profile appointments. The company, which is developing a revolutionary undulating membrane heart pump, has hired Andreas Fleischli as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Daniel Lexcen as Vice President of Clinical & Scientific Affairs. These strategic moves come as CorWave advances its clinical trials and prepares for a large-scale industrial and market push, aiming to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar cardiac assist device landscape.

The hires are a clear statement of intent, bringing decades of specialized experience into the company at a pivotal moment. CorWave is aiming to challenge the dominance of conventional continuous-flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) with a technology designed to mimic the natural pulse of a healthy heart, a feature it believes will dramatically reduce patient complications.

“We are thrilled to welcome Andreas and Daniel as CorWave advances toward global clinical and industrial scale-up,” said Louis de Lillers, CEO of CorWave, in a statement. “Building on the momentum of our first clinical implants, strengthening our leadership team with world-class talent is a critical step in our ambition to transform durable LVAD therapy.”

Bolstering the C-Suite for a Market Push

The backgrounds of the new executives underscore CorWave’s strategic focus. Andreas Fleischli, the new CTO, is an internationally recognized authority in LVAD development with nearly 30 years of experience. He was a key figure at Thoratec, where he played a pivotal role in the development and large-scale manufacturing of the world's most implanted LVAD to date. His expertise in magnetically levitated pump technologies, engineering, and production scale-up is precisely what CorWave needs to transition its device from a prototype to a mass-produced, globally available product. He succeeds the retiring Carl Botterbusch.

“The company’s unique wave membrane technology, which delivers physiologic pulsatility unlike conventional continuous‑flow pumps, has the potential to redefine circulatory support,” commented Fleischli. “I am excited to help accelerate the transition from breakthrough innovation to clinical and commercial reality.”

Joining him is Daniel Lexcen, a seasoned expert in heart failure clinical research. Coming from a leadership role in global clinical research strategy at medical device giant Medtronic, Lexcen brings deep experience in designing and executing international clinical trials. With a PhD in Integrated Biosciences and over 45 peer-reviewed publications, his scientific and regulatory acumen will be crucial for navigating the path to CE marking in Europe and subsequent market approvals.

“I am excited to join CorWave and contribute to advancing the clinical program toward the pivotal study for CE marking,” Lexcen added. “Its unique approach to restoring a more natural physiologic response through the wave membrane technology represents a transformative opportunity to drive better clinical outcomes.”

Beyond Continuous Flow: A New Pulse in Cardiac Tech

At the heart of CorWave's mission is its biomimetic undulating membrane pump. Unlike the rotary pumps that dominate the current LVAD market, such as Abbott's successful HeartMate 3, CorWave’s device does not use a spinning impeller to create continuous blood flow. Instead, it uses a polymer membrane that undulates to propel blood forward in a pulsatile manner, closely mimicking the systole and diastole phases of a native heart.

This physiological approach is designed to solve the most persistent problems associated with traditional LVADs. Continuous flow can lead to blood cell damage, gastrointestinal bleeding, and an increased risk of stroke and thrombosis (blood clots). By creating a more natural, pulsatile flow with lower shear stress on blood cells, CorWave aims to significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Preclinical studies have already shown promising results, demonstrating excellent hemocompatibility and resistance to thrombosis.

The company has secured its innovation with a robust intellectual property portfolio, including multiple patent families covering its unique pump mechanism, ensuring a competitive moat as it enters the market.

From Lab Bench to Bedside: Navigating the Clinical Gauntlet

CorWave is no longer just a theoretical concept. The company has successfully transitioned its technology into human trials, a landmark achievement in a field that has not seen a radically new pumping mechanism in over two decades. In May 2025, the first CorWave LVAS was implanted in a patient at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

Early results from this first-in-human study have been highly encouraging. The company reported that the study met its primary endpoint with no device-related adverse events at the 30-day mark. The patient’s condition improved dramatically, and a preliminary analysis of the device—explanted after 84 days of support for a successful heart transplant—showed a complete absence of thrombus on the pump. This early clinical data provides the first piece of human evidence supporting the technology's potential to reduce critical complications.

The trial is set to enroll more patients across a handful of elite hospitals in Europe and Australia, gathering the necessary data to proceed to a larger pivotal trial. Lexcen’s appointment is timed perfectly to steer this complex process, managing relationships with investigators, regulatory bodies, and key opinion leaders to ensure a smooth path toward approval.

Fueling Ambition: Investor Confidence and Industrial Scale-Up

This ambitious journey from a French startup to a global medtech leader is fueled by significant financial backing and strategic support. CorWave has raised over €80 million from a syndicate of high-profile European investors, including Bpifrance, Novo Holdings, Sofinnova Partners, and the European Commission's EIC Fund, which made CorWave its first-ever direct equity investment in a private company.

This strong investor confidence has enabled the company to move beyond the lab. CorWave has already inaugurated a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Clichy, a suburb of Paris, preparing for the industrial-scale production required for pivotal trials and eventual commercial launch. The recent completion of its leadership team, with Fleischli and Lexcen joining VP of Operations Dawn Sadlowski-Buisserez, creates a powerful executive engine capable of managing this complex transition. With a breakthrough technology, a fortified leadership team, and deep financial backing, CorWave appears fully equipped to challenge the status quo and introduce a new era in the treatment of advanced heart failure.