German Medtech Protembis Gets €20 Million EIB Backing for Technology to Protect Brain During Heart Treatment
2024年7月30日 - 2:00PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
- EIB offers Protembis venture debt for next-generation
technology to reduce risk of brain injury in patients undergoing
catheter-based heart treatment
- Financing is to complete clinical trials and support marketing
of “ProtEmbo” cerebral embolic protection system
- Funding will accelerate research, development and market access
in Europe, the US and elsewhere
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €20 million in
venture-debt financing to German medical-technology company
Protembis to develop a next-generation device for protecting the
brains of patients who undergo certain heart treatments.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240729044798/en/
The ProtEmbo Cerebral Embolic Protection
system in the Aortic Arch (Graphic: Business Wire)
The funding is to support clinical trials, research, development
and market access for the “ProtEmbo” cerebral embolic protection
system. ProtEmbo is a filter device that deflects embolic material
away from arteries to the brain during left-sided heart procedures
including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), countering
risks including stroke and cognitive decline.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to supporting
companies such as Protembis that aim to improve the health and
well-being of European citizens. Their innovative technology,
developed in Europe, will save patients who have to undergo heart
surgery, from suffering grave side effects like cerebral embolic
events”, said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer.
The EIB accord with Protembis is supported by the InvestEU
programme to trigger more than €372 billion in additional
investment in new technologies until 2027. The deal is aligned with
the InvestEU objective of promoting research, development and
innovation.
“We are pleased to announce the signature of this agreement with
the EIB,” said Protembis Co-Chief Executive Officers Karl von
Mangoldt and Conrad Rasmus. “We would like to recognise the hard
work, skill and professionalism of the EIB team while thanking our
existing investors and our board for their unwavering belief in the
benefits of this additional financing facility.”
TAVR is an x-ray guided procedure to replace an aortic valve
that has narrowed and doesn't open fully. TAVR is minimally
invasive, meaning it uses smaller incisions than open-heart valve
surgery. Globally, around 430,000 patients with severe aortic
stenosis are expected to be treated with TAVR by 2025.
A significant complication of TAVR is the risk of dislodging
debris that lines the aortic arch and the old aortic valve. This
debris can travel to the brain via three major arteries that
originate in the roof of the aortic arch. It can block the smaller
vessels in the brain and create lesions, which may cause stroke or
contribute to acceleration of cognitive decline.
ProtEmbo is inserted during TAVR via the artery in the left
wrist, and lines the roof of the aortic arch, shielding the brain
from the dislodged debris.
In March 2024, Protembis completed a €30 million Series B
financing round to advance a pivotal FDA approved Investigational
Device Exemption study called the ProtEmbo trial. The trial will
enrol between 250 and 500 patients undergoing TAVR in Europe and
the US. The study aims to show the superiority of ProtEmbo by
randomising against a hybrid control group: half of this
control-group receiving no protection and half receiving the
current predicate system called “Sentinel”.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term
lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member
States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment
in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Its key priorities
are climate and the environment, development, innovation and
skills, SMEs, infrastructure, and cohesion. It works closely with
other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the
development of the European Union and support EU policies in more
than 140 countries worldwide.
The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with
crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and
public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps
mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy
priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital
transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof
the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to
support investment in the European Union, making funding for
investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more
flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU
Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The
InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will
invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion.
The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of
the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and
thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.
About ProtEmbo and Protembis. The ProtEmbo Cerebral
Protection System is an intra-aortic filter device that protects
the entire brain from embolic material liberated during
transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). It is a low-profile
non thrombogenic system that shields all cerebral vessels,
delivered through the left radial artery for optimal placement and
stability. This is an ideal access site enabling physicians to
avoid interference with TAVR equipment typically delivered through
the femoral artery.
Protembis is a privately held emerging medical device company
that has developed the ProtEmbo® Cerebral Protection System. The
company strives to provide a simple and reliable solution to
protect patients from brain injury during left-sided heart
procedures, improving patient quality of life and reducing overall
healthcare costs associated with brain injury during such
procedures. The ProtEmbo® System is currently undergoing clinical
investigations.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240729044798/en/
EIB: Donata Riedel, d.riedel@eib.org, tel.: +49 30 590 04
79-0, mobile: +49 151 14659021 Website: www.eib.org/press — Press
Office: +352 4379 21000 — press@eib.org
Protembis GmbH: Conrad Rasmus and Karl von Mangoldt,
management[at]protembis.com, tel.: +49 (0)241 9903 3622. Website:
www.protembis.com