End-stage heart failure is the most common cause of death worldwide, with the only treatment available being a heart transplant.
Transplants are available for only a small number of patients, with around 4000 donor hearts available each year this leaves many with no alternatives.
BiVACOR’s Total Artificial Heart hopes to be able to change that.
[Music starts. The opening title page shows a blue panel with the Australia Government, Department of Industry, Science and Resources crest and logo appear in stack format. The panel also shows the video title and subtitle: BiVACOR, OneVentures, Venture Capital Case Study Series.
A video of four people walking through the doors of a hospital corridor appears.]
[The video changes to show Daniel Timms. He is seated in a hospital office and speaking to the camera. His full name, occupation and company name appear at the lower left-hand side of the screen. It states:
Daniel Timms
Founder, Chief Technical Officer
BiVACOR.
On the screen, a 3D model of BiVACOR’s device turns, showing its different parts. The device is rounded with several tubes and appears to be made of metal. Above the animation, there is text which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.
The video changes to four people walking through the hospital corridor, and then cuts back to Daniel Timms speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: So BiVACOR’s origins come back from I think probably years ago as a graduate project from my PhD at QUT. And the origins really came out of a desire to create a device that could treat patients with severe heart failure.
[The video changes to show Paul Kelly. He is seated inside a hospital room and speaking to the camera. His full name, occupation and company name appear at the lower left-hand side of the screen. It states:
Paul Kelly
Founding Partner, Director
OneVentures.]
Paul Kelly: OneVentures is a Sydney based venture capital firm. We were formed in 2010 on the backend of the global financial crisis.
[As Paul Kelly speaks, a 3D model of BiVACOR’s device and its parts appears on a white background. Most of the parts have a rounded shape, some have white tubes, and some parts appear to be made of metal. Above the animation, there is text which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.
The camera cuts back to Paul Kelly.]
Paul Kelly: Supported by the Industry Innovation Fund from the federal government initially and we've grown from $40 million under management to now nearly $850 million under management. Healthcare is a global opportunity. And we see that our experience in the global markets brought here in Australia could be tremendously helpful. And I think that's borne out in companies like BiVACOR.
[The camera cuts to Daniel Timms. He is speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: BiVACOR’s vision for the future is to create a device that is as good as a transplant or potentially better.
[The video then shows Daniel Timms taking BiVACOR’s device out of a black box in a hospital room and showing it to four people. As he handles the device, there is text on the screen which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.
The camera shifts back to Daniel Timms seated, speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: Something that's available off the shelf to be able to treat those patients and get them out of bed and have them return to the daily activities with their family that they were used to experiencing throughout the you know earlier stages of their life.
[The video changes to Paul Kelly. He is speaking to the camera.]
Paul Kelly: We learnt about the Biomedical Translation Fund in 2016 I believe when it was promoted by the federal government at the time as a major initiative to address a gap in funding in biomedical innovation. And that was taking early innovation through critical proof of concept and then into the clinical development stage.
[A scene of Daniel Timms speaking to four people with BiVACOR’s device in his hand appears. As he handles the device, there is text on the screen which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.
The video changes back to Paul Kelly speaking.]
Paul Kelly: And there had been a gap in funding and there still is a significant gap in funding that will take those sorts of opportunities forward. So, we learned about it when it was promoted, we applied for it. It was a very competitive process a lot of diligence went on for months and we were luckily one of the successful applicants.
[A short 3D animation of BiVACOR’s device and its parts is shown on a white background. The parts are rounded, and appear to be mostly made of metal. Above the animation, there is text which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.]
[The camera cuts to Daniel Timms. He is speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: One of the things that that BTF fund really did do was give OneVentures the I guess the freedom to invest in an earlier stage medical device company and medical device companies are very risky. So therefore, by having some government support it seemed like it changed the risk level of investment for OneVentures.
[The camera cuts to show Daniel Timms speaking to another person in a hospital room with the device in his hand. As he handles the device, there is text on the screen which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.
The video then shifts back to Daniel Timms speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: So having that extra funding encourages the investment initially because their dollar is going to go a lot further to get that tax credit coming back.
[The camera changes to Paul Kelly. He is speaking to the camera.]
Paul Kelly: If the BTF didn't exist, I think the number of opportunities funded in Australia would be significantly less. And companies like BiVACOR may not even exist. If successful, BiVACOR could have a tremendous impact globally on the management of individuals with heart failure. There's no other device like this.
[The video shifts back to Daniel Timms. He is speaking to the camera.]
Daniel Timms: The job opportunities that this project create are across many different areas. Were it clinical, scientific, engineering, business. All disciplines need to come together to create a device like this. So, the program really does have the opportunity to expand into all reaches of employment and create lots of job opportunities in very many different disciplines.
[The video changes to show a 3D animation of the different parts of BiVACOR’s device rotating. Above the animation, there is text which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.]
[The camera cuts to Paul Kelly. He is speaking to the camera. The video shows a short scene of Daniel Timms smiling and holding the device, and then two people smiling in a hospital room. The camera cuts back to Paul Kelly speaking.]
Paul Kelly: What the Wright Brothers did for flying is what BiVACOR will do for heart failure. Having a completely different approach.
Paul Kelly: Imagine a world where someone who's got end stage heart failure no longer has to worry about waiting for a transplant. Having an alternative to that that's durable, that can be used in people with different body shapes and sizes and frames and can be controlled externally, doesn't need to have a line going into it. Obviating the need for transplant and all the complications associated with the medication taken to allow you to have a sustainable transplant. It's revolutionary.
[The video shows Daniel Timms smiling and holding BiVACOR’s device. As he handles the device, there is text on the screen which states: Investigational Device. Limited Investigational Use Only in The United States.]
[Video ends with a final blue panel showing the Australian Government, Department of Industry, Science and Resources crest and logo in stack format at the top left of the screen.
This URL also appears at the bottom left: business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/venture-capital.]
[Music ends]
Founded in 2008, BiVACOR and the idea for an artificial heart began during Daniel Timms’ PhD graduate project at the Queensland University of Technology.
Daniel grew up in Brisbane, spending his childhood learning the mechanics of plumbing from his plumber father, tinkering with water pumps and building unique devices.
Timms set up a company to develop what became the Total Artificial Heart (TAH). The result of a desire to help people like his father, who passed from heart failure at the age of 55.
The TAH is the first long-term therapy for patients with severe biventricular heart failure. A condition which effects the left and right chambers of the heart.
TAH combines magnetic levitation technology and artificial intelligence to replicate the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.
‘Our vision is to create a device that is as good as a transplant or better. We’re looking to create a device that can bridge the gap between the number of donor transplants needed and the number of patients who could benefit from that therapy.’
In 2018, following prototyping and some promising test results, BiVACOR was looking for investors to support the next stage of its work.
As an early-stage medical company, developing a device like this has enormous potential. But it also comes with a long path to commercialisation, which potential investors may see as a risk.
Through the Australian Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF), OneVentures became the first venture capital investor in the company.
OneVentures is a leading Australian venture capital firm focused on scaling technology and healthcare companies. The firm supports biomedical startups by investing at critical stages, it also helps them through expertise in research commercialisation and its experience in international markets.
The firm’s $170 million Healthcare Fund III, launched in 2016, is one of 3 private sector partners in the BTF.
Support from OneVentures through the BTF allows BiVACOR to progress through the technical, scientific and regulatory processes required to bring biomedical innovation into clinical use.
'It’s a very long timeline from the lab bench discovery through to a commercial product – at least 15 years. So you need to be patient and persistent. But the successes, when they happen, are tremendous and can impact healthcare provision globally.’
The BTF fund is an equity co-investment program supporting biomedical discoveries that commercialise health and medical research outcomes.
We deliver the BTF on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. A total of $501.25 million allocated for the program between government and private sector funding.
As a co-investment model, the government offers a way for venture capital firms to invest in cutting-edge Australian biotechnology at an earlier stage than would normally be possible.
‘Medical device companies are very risky. Having government support changed the risk level of venture capital investment.’
Without this investment and support from OneVentures, BiVACOR would not be where it is today.
In 2022, OneVentures secured additional venture funding for the company from a major US venture capital firm. The funding has helped put BiVACOR on a strong footing for its ongoing development.
The company received approval in November 2023 from the US Food and Drug Administration to implant the TAH into a small number of patients. A major milestone for the technology.
In February 2024, the company successfully applied for a $50 million Medical Research Future Fund grant to develop and commercialise the device by the government.
The contribution of the BTF program in advancing biomedical innovation goes beyond funding ideas that. As Timms puts it, ‘otherwise would be lost to the world’.
It also brings Australian startups into contact with networks of support for commercialisation in global markets.
‘These companies need long-term patient funding, and a lot of it. If the BTF didn’t exist, the number of opportunities funded in Australia would be significantly less, and companies like BiVACOR may not even exist.’
