Cardiac device company Mitralign attracted $35 million in new Series D financing. The Tewksbury, MA, company plans to use the investment infusion with its eyes toward European testing and commercial launch for its catheter-based mitral valve repair system.
Executives of the startup plan to use the cash to bring their CE mark for the product to the finish line. The funding will also help Mitralign gain CE mark approval and launch sales in the European Union.
Mitralign's product is designed to treat mitral valve regurgitation, where the heart's mitral valve doesn't close completely and leaks blood back into the left atrium, the company explains. Similar to surgical annuloplasty, the system delivers a pair of implants into the mitral annulus, or ring, by way of the catheter, at which point the implants are cinched together in order to reduce the annulus' size to address the valve closure issue. The condition must be treated, the company says, because it can lead to an enlarged heart, rapidly worse heart failure and death.
There's a big market, here, too, Mitralign says: Over 2.5 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from either moderate or severe functional mitral regurgitation. Investors, meanwhile, see percutaneous (under the skin) mitral valve repair as a market that can surpass $1 billion.
For the latest funding round, a number of investors took part, all of which have kicked in some cash for previous rounds. They include lead investor Forbion Capital Partners, Saints Venture Capital, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Triathlon Medical Ventures, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Orchestra Medical Ventures, Oakwood Medical Investors, Palisade Capital Management and Giza Venture Capital.
Considering both Medtronic ($MDT) and Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) are investors, we wonder: Which one will pursue acquiring the startup, assuming its signature product advances as planned?
- here's the release