Taking the risk no one else will: how Medical 21 is working to replace harvested blood vessels with an artificial coronary artery that becomes part of the patient’s own body.
In this episode, Manny Villafana, Founder and CEO of Medical 21, returns to discuss his team's progress in developing an artificial coronary artery for bypass surgery. Drawing on more than five decades of medical device innovation, he reflects on how his earlier companies helped create longer-lasting pacemakers and lifelong heart valves that transformed cardiovascular care. Manny explains how Medical 21's graft is designed to grow into a living blood vessel made from the patient's own cells, potentially eliminating the need to harvest vessels during bypass surgery and reducing pain, recovery time, infection risk, and costs. He also shares updates on the company's preclinical progress, partnership with the Mayo Clinic, fundraising efforts, and why pursuing seemingly impossible ideas is essential to advancing medicine.
Tune in to learn how bold thinking, regenerative technology, and a willingness to take risks could reshape coronary bypass surgery!
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