Medtronic leads $100M round in Pulnovo to back novel heart disease device

What's the deal? Pulnovo Medical, a China-based medical device company, has closed an oversubscribed $100M financing round led by MedtronicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, one of the world's largest medical technology companies. Existing investors including EQTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and OrbiMed also participated, alongside new investor HongShanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, formerly known as Sequoia China.

Separately, Medtronic and Pulnovo have entered into a commercial agreement exploring potential future commercialisation opportunities.

Pulnovo's lead product is the Pulmonary Artery Denervation (PADN) System — a minimally invasive device that targets overactivated nerve activity contributing to pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. The company has performed approximately 1,500 PADN procedures globally, secured regulatory approvals in seven countries, and is actively commercialising in the EU, the Middle East, and China. In the US, it has received FDA Breakthrough Device designation and has two approved clinical trials under way.

Why now? Pulmonary hypertension is a severe, progressive condition with limited treatment options — most existing therapies manage symptoms rather than targeting the underlying disease mechanism. The PADN system's approach has been recognised in seven international clinical guidelines, including the 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines, lending it significant clinical credibility.

For Medtronic, the investment and commercial agreement represent a bet on a potentially category-defining technology in cardiovascular disease — an area the company has long dominated with devices like pacemakers and defibrillators. Adding a novel interventional therapy for pulmonary hypertension aligns with its strategy of expanding into high-unmet-need cardiopulmonary conditions.

What could go wrong? The PADN system's US trials are still in early stages, and FDA approval remains a long way off. The history of cardiovascular devices is littered with promising early-stage technologies that failed to replicate results in large, controlled US trials. Medtronic's commercial agreement is explicitly exploratory — there are no guarantees it leads to a full commercial partnership or acquisition.

Pulnovo is also navigating an increasingly complex geopolitical environment for Chinese medical device companies seeking US regulatory approval and global commercialisation, which could slow its international expansion plans.

The signal: The deal reflects a broader trend of large medtech companies using strategic investments — rather than outright acquisitions — to secure early access to promising cardiovascular technologies before clinical validation is complete. For Medtronic, which has faced growth challenges in recent years, backing innovative devices at the clinical stage is a way to rebuild its pipeline without committing to full acquisition prices.

More broadly, pulmonary hypertension is an increasingly competitive space as the medical industry recognises the scale of unmet need in patients where existing drugs fail — and Pulnovo's Medtronic backing gives it a significant commercial and credibility advantage as it pushes toward the US market.

Sources:
BioSpectrum Asia
PR Newswire
Finsmes
MassDevice
Medical Buyer
TechDogs

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J.V.