SADDLE BROOK, N.J. and AACHEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CircuLite, Inc. today announced that it has closed on its Series C round of financing with total commitments of $32.5 million. Forbion Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by other existing Series C investors Crédit Agricole Private Equity, Foundation Medical Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners and several undisclosed individual investors. In conjunction with the Series C round, CircuLite welcomed Avi Molcho, M.D., Venture Partner at Forbion Capital Partners, to its board of directors.
Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to complete the ongoing clinical study, European registration and commercial launch of the Synergy® Pocket Micro-pump for partial circulatory support in patients with Class IIIb and early Class IV heart failure. The financing will also support the initiation of IDE trials for Synergy in the United States. This round of funding comes as CircuLite is poised to introduce the next generation of the Synergy system, featuring new technology from the Company’s ongoing product development program.
In addition to this funding, CircuLite has successfully secured non-dilutive grant financing to broaden the commercial potential of Synergy, including a grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the development of a pediatric circulatory support device based upon the Synergy Micro-pump platform. The Company also plans to expand the Synergy platform with European grants to support the creation a fully implantable system with physiological feedback.
“The significant Series C financing underscores the broad potential for the Synergy Micro-pump platform,” said Paul Southworth, President and CEO of CircuLite. “The expanded funding from our current investors will support our development and commercialization effort in Europe, as well as U.S. IDE trials. Importantly, our investors understand the value of continued product development to enhance the commercial opportunities for our Synergy platform. Their support enables the expansion of our European trial to include our next-generation system that is designed to provide important patient benefits.”
“CircuLite’s presentation of Synergy’s proof-of-concept data at the 2009 American College of Cardiology meeting, the publication of this data in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and the NIH pediatric grant award all clearly validate the cardiology community’s interest in the Synergy device,” said Dr. Molcho of Forbion Capital Partners. “CircuLite’s leadership in the development of partial circulatory support devices, the clinical and commercial promise of Synergy in Europe and the U.S., and the near-term milestones for the Company all make CircuLite an attractive investment opportunity.”
Dr. Molcho joined Forbion Capital Partners in 2007, and was also the CEO and Chairman of Neovasc, an interventional cardiology company. Prior to joining Forbion, he served as a partner at Giza Venture Capital, where he established and headed the life science practice and co-founded BiolineRx, an Israeli drug development company. Prior to joining Giza, Dr. Molcho was a practicing psychiatrist. Dr. Molcho received his medical degree from Tel Aviv University Medical School and his M.B.A. from Tel Aviv University.
“Avi brings valuable perspective to the CircuLite Board, drawn from his experience in the interventional cardiology industry,” Southworth added. “I look forward to working closely with Avi and our other board members as we expand the Synergy platform and grow CircuLite into a commercial organization.”
About Synergy®
The Synergy® Pocket Micro-pump represents a new approach to mechanical circulatory support that can transform chronic heart failure management by providing a less-invasive, elective treatment option for patients before their disease state becomes irreversible. Synergy is the first implantable system designed to provide partial circulatory support (PCS) for long-term use in millions of unserved patients that have NYHA Class IIIb/early IV disease.
CircuLite’s patented micro-pump provides up to 3L/min of flow, which increases total cardiac output and offloads the heart, allowing it to rest and potentially enabling beneficial recovery of heart function. The size of a AA battery, the device is small enough to be implanted subcutaneously in a “pacemaker-like” pocket through a minimally invasive procedure.
About CircuLite®
CircuLite® is transforming heart failure treatment with the development of minimally invasive devices for long-term partial circulatory support (PCS). By enabling a proactive and lower-risk treatment approach by supplementing a patient’s native pumping capacity, CircuLite has the potential to improve the quality of life for millions of chronic heart failure patients and their families. CircuLite’s pipeline of PCS devices is lead by the Synergy® Pocket Micro-pump, the world’s smallest implantable blood pump, currently in a CE Mark clinical trial. Next-generation Synergy Micro-pumps include an endovascular system, a fully implantable system with physiological feedback, a right heart support system and a pediatric system. For more information on CircuLite and the Synergy Pocket Micro-pump devices, visit our website at www.CircuLite.net.
CAUTION: Investigational Device. Limited by Federal Law to Investigational Use Only.
CircuLite® and Synergy® are registered trademarks of CircuLite, Inc. in the United States.
Contact:
Media: MacDougall Biomedical Communications Kari Watson or Jennifer Conrad kwatson@macbiocom.com jconrad@macbiocom.com 781-235-3060 or CircuLite, Inc. Gail Farnan, 201-478-7651 Vice President, Marketing
