Transcatheter Technologies GmbH closes Start-up Financing Round with High-Tech Gründerfonds and Bayern Kapital

Development of a novel, repositionable biological heartvalve

The newly founded medical technologies company Transcatheter Technologies GmbH (Regensburg, Germany) announces the successful closing of a seed financing round of 600.000 € with High-Tech Gruenderfonds and Seedfonds Bayern. The funds will be used for the development of a novel biological heart valve up to the proof of concept. The patented design enables the repositioning of the valve and thereby decreases the number of complications during the implantation procedure. This allows for the therapy of high risk patients.

The technology of Transcatheter Technologies GmbH makes it possible to implant aortic valves without the need for traumatic open-heart surgery. The heart valve is mounted on a self-expanding stent and implanted through a small incision between the ribs and in a later stage through the femoral artery. Patients are expected to have shorter hospital stays and dramatically shorter recovery times.

Key features allow the physician to reposition the valve during implantation. At the same time the stent can safely be deployed without harming sensitive heart tissue.

“Compared to current products, this new device has many innovative features offering doctors better control over the implantation procedure and improved safety for the patient.” says Hou-Sen Lim, company founder.

The total annual patient pool for aortic valve replacement is expected to grow from 350,000 today to about 400,000 by 2012, of which approximately 80,000 potential procedures could be transcatheter based. That will translate into over US$ 1B market in the next decade. In addition, the catheter technology will open new markets. 5% of the people older than 75 years suffer from a symptomatic aortic stenosis that requires surgical aortic valve replacement. But one third will not get referred to a cardiac surgical therapy, because the patients have an intolerable high risk of lethal complications.

In the future these patients can receive a low risk catheter based heart valve.
“We are developing a new heart valve that will save the life of patients who are nowadays sent home by their doctors to die because there is no therapy available for them.” says Wolfgang Goetz MD, PhD, company founder and cardiac surgeon. “This innovative technology reduces the risks associated with early percutaneous valve systems. In case of complications, these new prostheses can be repositioned and removed without harm to the patient.”

„Transcatheter Technologies´ valve design can solve major problems of common prosthesis. Thereby, valve implantations become an option for currently untreatable patients. We are convinced that the medicinal as well as technological expertise of the team provide an ideal base for a successful development“, adds Dr. Michael Nettersheim from High-Tech Gruenderfonds.

Monika Steger, team leader at Bayern Kapital GmbH comments: “Transcatheter Technologies stands out for its extraordinary motivated founders. We believe that the team is capable of moving the already advanced valve design successfully from development to market stage.”

About Transcatheter Technologies GmbH:
Transcatheter Technologies GmbH was incorporated on January 2009 and is a privately held early stage start-up company based at BioPark in Regensburg, Germany. The company develops medical devices aimed at reducing the trauma of open-heart valve surgeries. Its re-positionable transcatheter aortic valve system is at the forefront of next generation valve implantation technology.

Contact:
Wolfgang Goetz, Tel: +49 170 6309920,
wolfgang.goetz@transcatheter-technologies.com
Hou-Sen Lim, Tel: +49 170 6309921
housen.lim@transcatheter-technologies.com

About High-Tech Gründerfonds:
The High-Tech Gründerfonds invests venture capital in young, up-and-coming technology companies, which implement promising research results in the industry. The start-up companies are planned to lead their R&D projects to the production of a prototype or a “proof of concepts” or market launch by means of the seed financing of up to 500k EUR. The High-Tech Gründerfonds has a fund volume of around 272m EUR. Investors of the public-private partnership are the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, the KfW bank group as well as the six industrial groups BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler and Carl Zeiss.

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 253175 Bonn
Germany
Phone: +49 228 / 965685-00
Fax: +49 228 / 965685-50
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de

About Seedfonds Bayern (SFB) from Bayern Kapital:
Seedfonds Bayern exists since 2003 and has a volume of 22 Mio. Euro to invest venture capital in young and innovative Bavarian technology-companies with high prospects that are transferring promising research results to business enterprises.The fund is managed by Bayern Kapital GmbH. Bayern Kapital GmbH is a Bavarian venture capital company and was founded as part of the “Bavarian Future Initiative” as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the LfA Foerderbank Bayern (Bavaria‘s development bank) at the end of 1995. Bayern Kapital and its funds have invested about 142 Mio. Euro in more than 180 companies and currently manages funds to the value of 190 Mio. Euro.

Contact:
Bayern Kapital GmbH
Ländgasse 135 a
84028 Landshut
Germany
Phone: +49 871 92325 0
Fax: +49 871 92325 55
info@bayernkapital.de
www.bayernkapital.de