Hancock Jaffe Laboratories has entered a sponsored research agreement with the Texas Heart Institute to develop the company’s CoreoGraft.
CoreoGraft is an off-the-shelf conduit that is designed to be used for coronary artery bypass surgery.
“We are fortunate to be in a position to be highly selective of the projects we accept at Texas Heart Institute, and we are excited to partner with Hancock Jaffe on this innovative research. I am personally interested in the CoreoGraft because I recognize the potential and unmet clinical need for an alternative to saphenous vein harvesting, which could positively impact the lives of so many people suffering from heart disease globally,” Dr. Luiz Sampaio, co-director of the Cullen Cardiovascular Research Laboratories at the Texas Heart Institute, said in a press release.
About 150,000 coronary artery bypass surgeries happen each year in the U.S., according to Hancock Jaffe Laboratories. Studies have shown that up to 40% of saphenous vein grafts can become occluded or clogged as early as one year after surgery. CoreoGraft is an alternative to traditional saphenous vein grafting.
“We couldn’t ask for a better partner on the CoreoGraft project than the Texas Heart Institute. We have already begun to collaborate with Dr. Sampaio and his team and their expertise became evident during our first meeting. We look forward to working with such a talented group and will announce our first study at Texas Heart Institute in the coming weeks,” said Dr. Marc Glickman, Hancock Jaffe’s senior VP and chief medical officer, said.