Paragate Medical and the EIC Accelerator: Draining Heart Failure

Paragate Medical, founded in 2016 by interventional cardiologist Dr. Yair Feld and registered in Nazareth, Israel, is developing an implantable peritoneal ultrafiltration device that continuously draws excess fluid and salt from the body of heart failure patients across the lining of the abdomen and sends it to the bladder to be passed as urine. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off for blended finance and received an EU grant of €2.50 million for FILBERT, a €3.99 million project that ran from August 2023 to July 2025, according to CORDIS.

The project is closed. Its final report states that Paragate produced a "Gen 1.5" system for an 8-patient trial, validated it in the lab and in animals, obtained ethics and regulatory approvals, activated four trial sites in Europe and "launched the CLEAR-HF clinical trial as a pilot study", according to the CORDIS reporting page. The fully implantable second-generation pump was "ready to proceed to the next testing phase for subsequent design freeze". CLEAR-HF is not listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Where Paragate Stands Now

In December 2025 Feld presented early data from CLEAR-HF at the CSI Focus D-HF meeting in Frankfurt, showing that the second patient, implanted on 5 November 2025, drained roughly 600 to 900 ml of fluid a day with sodium levels between those of blood and urine, according to an account by Sharing from Israel. The trial is enrolling up to 8 patients in Serbia and Spain with six months of follow-up each. When checked in September 2026, the About page of the company's website returned a WordPress "critical error".

The Technology: A Bypass for the Kidneys

Patients with advanced heart failure retain fluid in their lungs and limbs. The standard treatment is diuretic drugs, and the final report states that about 30% of patients become resistant to them and must keep returning to hospital. Paragate's device collects fluid in a membrane-covered chamber in the abdomen that lets water and salt through but not proteins, and pumps it slowly to the bladder. Doctors are meant to adjust it remotely, and patients recharge it wirelessly.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised an implantable device and management platform to prevent chronic fluid congestion. During the project Paragate got its interim device into a first-in-human trial, which is real progress for an implant. The implants and first data came after the project ended, the data covers two patients, and the fully implantable second-generation device had not reached design freeze.

1. Trial approvals and sitesDelivered4 European sites active.
2. First-in-human usePartial2 patients reported.
3. Fully implantable Gen 2PartialBefore design freeze.
4. Fewer hospital staysUnverifiedNo outcome data yet.

The Money

The EU paid 63% of the project. Paragate also received €50,000 from the EU in 2018 for a feasibility study of the same device, according to CORDIS. Its private funding, revenue and losses are not public, and whether the EIC Fund invested under the blended finance award has not been disclosed.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The final report calls heart failure congestion the largest healthcare cost generator in Europe and the US. A device that keeps patients out of hospital would matter. The EU has funded an Israeli company to test it in Serbian and Spanish hospitals, and the public cannot yet see the results.

The Verdict

Paragate Medical and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.