Burnaby-based medical technology company Kardium is scaling up production of its flagship heart-treatment system with support from the federal government.
Ottawa is contributing up to $31.25 million through its Strategic Response Fund toward Kardium’s $125 million manufacturing expansion in British Columbia.
The project will significantly expand Kardium’s cleanroom facility and increase annual production capacity for its Globe Pulsed Field System from 500 units to 30,000. The expansion is also expected to create and maintain a total of 1,000 highly skilled jobs in B.C. while keeping the company’s intellectual property and technical expertise in Canada.
“Kardium is proud to be developing and manufacturing our innovative medical technology here in British Columbia,” said CEO Kevin Chaplin.
Chaplin said the federal support represents an important step in Kardium’s continued growth as it works to make its technology available to more physicians and patients worldwide.
Founded in 2007, Kardium has developed the Globe System to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common type of sustained cardiac arrhythmia.
The platform combines high-density cardiac mapping and pulsed field ablation in a single catheter. Its 122-electrode array provides physicians with real-time information about catheter positioning and tissue contact, allowing them to map the heart and deliver targeted treatment with the same device.
The new manufacturing investment arrives after several major commercial and regulatory milestones for Kardium.
Kardium is a member of the BC Tech Association.
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As Techcouver previously reported, the company secured approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the Globe System in 2025. Kardium subsequently completed its first commercial procedures in the United States before receiving Health Canada approval this summer.
Clinical results from Kardium’s pivotal PULSAR study showed that 78 percent of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation remained free from atrial arrhythmias after one year. The study also reported durable pulmonary vein isolation in 95 percent of veins and no device-related primary safety events.
The manufacturing expansion also builds on a US$250 million financing round raised by Kardium last year to support the Globe System’s commercial launch, expand production capacity, and build its commercial team. That financing followed a $143 million round secured in 2024.
“British Columbia is emerging as a global hub for medical innovation,” said federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who announced the investment in Vancouver.
The Kardium funding was announced alongside up to $68 million for Evonik Canada’s separate B.C. life-sciences expansion. Together, the federal government is committing nearly $100 million to the two projects as it looks to strengthen domestic advanced manufacturing and grow Canada’s life-sciences sector.
For Kardium, the investment provides the manufacturing muscle needed to move from regulatory approval and early commercial adoption toward producing its Vancouver-developed technology at a global scale.
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