People with end-stage heart failure who cannot get a transplant are often given a pump that moves their blood directly, which brings risks of clotting and bleeding. That is the problem as AdjuCor, a Munich company, describes it. Its device, reBEAT, is an implant placed around the heart and driven by a portable electro-pneumatic unit, which squeezes the heart in time with its beat without touching the blood.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,499,999 towards a €3.91 million project that ran through 2023 and 2024. According to the CORDIS report, in the first-in-human trial "all primary safety and performance endpoints were met", and the company secured "a €10 million mirroring investment term sheet from the EIC Fund". In August 2025 AdjuCor announced that the trial had been completed at hospitals in Newcastle, Hannover and Copenhagen and that it was preparing a US trial. The device is "not yet available for sale".
Company file
- Legal entity
- AdjuCor GmbH, Munich
- CEO
- Stephen Wildhirt
- Device
- reBEAT biventricular epicardial support, no blood contact
- Trial sites
- Freeman Hospital Newcastle, Hannover Medical School, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen
- Investors
- MitrAssist, Maurizio Capital; EIC Fund term sheet
- EIC project
- 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where AdjuCor Stands Today
The trial results were published in JACC: Basic to Translational Science in February 2025, according to the company's news page. The next step, chief executive Stephen Wildhirt said in August 2025, is a US trial aimed at "bridging patients to transplantation for up to 30 days". The company has not announced when that trial will start or whether the EIC Fund's €10 million investment has closed. Its latest news, in early 2026, consists of interviews and press coverage.
The Technology: Squeezing the Heart From Outside
The CORDIS report calls reBEAT "the first device incorporating a synchronous cardiac sleeve mechanism" to reach this level of clinical evidence. The trial investigators quoted by AdjuCor described immediate effects: Stephan Schueler in Newcastle noted that "there is no blood contact, avoiding the need for anticoagulation", and Christian Møller in Copenhagen reported "immediate changes in cardiac output". The report does not say how many patients were treated.
"The reBEAT device's ease of implantation is truly remarkable."
Bastian Schmack, Hannover Medical School, trial investigator, August 2025What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The project promised "a revolutionary technology platform for providing life-saving treatment for end-stage heart failure patients". It carried out the first acute feasibility trial, added Copenhagen as a third centre, refined the implant and drive unit and completed the testing needed for an extended trial phase. The trial met its primary endpoints. Longer-term trials are the next step, according to the report.
- First-in-human trialDeliveredAll primary endpoints met.
- Device refinementDeliveredImplant and drive unit.
- Follow-on financingTerm sheet€10M EIC Fund; closing not announced.
- Market approvalNot yetUS trial planned.
The Money
AdjuCor's last announced equity round was a €29 million Series B in June 2021, with €25 million from the Israeli medical investor MitrAssist and €4 million from Maurizio Capital. The CORDIS report says the EIC Fund term sheet followed due diligence by the European Investment Bank. The company's accounts are filed in Germany but not freely displayed.
What Is Not Known
What cannot be checked
How many patients received reBEAT, whether the EIC Fund investment was completed, when the US trial will start, and AdjuCor's spending and losses are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC funded a European heart device through its first human trial at three European hospitals, and the EIC Fund offered to invest. The next trial is planned in the United States, where the company expects its first use as a bridge to transplant.
What the project promised
A life-saving technology platform for end-stage heart failure.
What the record shows
A first-in-human trial that met its endpoints, an EIC Fund term sheet, and a US trial still to start.
The Verdict
A promising first step
The EIC project delivered what an early device project should: a completed human trial with its endpoints met. reBEAT is not available outside trials, and the public record lacks the patient numbers and funding details that would show how far it has come.
AdjuCor has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
