London, 11th March 2010. Veryan Holdings Limited (“Veryan”) announced today that it has secured additional funding totaling £3.6 million (US $5.4 million) from a syndicate of Investors led by new investor Seroba Kernel, a European life science venture capital firm, alongside existing investors Imperial Innovations, Oxford Capital Partners Limited and NESTA. The funds will be employed to finance further development activities and a pivotal clinical trial designed to show the clinical benefit of Veryans’ unique BioMimics 3D™ stent technology.
Veryan technology
Peripheral vascular disease treatment is one of the fastest growing segments of the cardiovascular device market, the potential market value is in excess of $1 billion. Existing stent technologies have demonstrated significant performance shortfalls including restenosis (re-narrowing) and inadequate mechanical performance leading to suboptimal clinical results.
Veryan is developing a novel stent platform technology that imposes a 3-dimensional helical geometry onto the stented vessel segment which generates physiological swirling blood flow and has been shown to significantly reduce restenosis (re-narrowing) in pre-clinical experiments. In addition, Veryan has established that the 3D geometry confers significant mechanical benefits. The BioMimics 3D stents are more flexible, kink resistant and fracture resistant than traditional stents. The Veryan concept was originally conceived by Professor Colin Caro at Imperial College, London.
Initially targeted at peripheral vessels, the BioMimics 3D technology is also being developed for all vascular stent applications, this will allow the company to target entry into the total stent market (currently estimated in excess of $4 billion).
First in human study
Veryan has recently commenced a First in Human and CE Mark study at Herz Zentrum, Bad Krozingen, Germany. The Principal Investigator is Professor Thomas Zeller, a recognized global expert in vascular medicine. As well as providing supporting data for achievement of CE Mark status, this study will evaluate the clinical performance attributes of the BioMimics 3D technology against a contemporary control stent and will include the assessment of a number of differentiating features of the Veryan stent technology.
Chas Taylor, Veryan’s Chief Executive, commented: “The initial results of our first in human study are excellent and appear to confirm the attributes that we have seen in pre-clinical studies. We are excited by the potential that the Company has to significantly influence the design of vascular stents in the future, we believe that this technology will provide significant clinical benefit in the treatment of vascular disease. We are delighted to welcome Seroba Kernel to our list of investors and wish to acknowledge the continued support of our existing investors.”
Alan O’Connell, Partner at Seroba Kernel, added: ”We were attracted by the commercial potential of the Veryan technology to address the significant clinical and market need for improved stent performance. The Veryan management team is top class and the company has a world class team of medical advisors.”
For more information contact
Tony Stephenson, College Hill T: +44 (0)20 7866 7864 E: tony.stephenson@collegehill.com
Chas Taylor, CEO Veryan Holdings Ltd. 5 City Business Centre, Horsham West Sussex RH13 5BB
T: +44 (0)1403 258984 E: Chas.taylor@veryanmed.com W: www.veryanmed.com
About Vascular Disease The total market for vascular stents to treat occlusive vascular disease exceeds $4 billion p.a. It is a highly profitable and competitive environment with six large corporations and many smaller entrants competing for market share. The market is divided into two key segments, coronary stents (>$3 billion) and peripheral stents (>$1 billion). Despite two decades of stent innovation, two key failure modes remain as critical clinical problems. The first, restenosis (re-narrowing) is a physiological failure mode that arises partly as a result of a proliferation of tissue in response to arterial injury during stent implantation, this process affects the performance of all implanted stents. The second is a physical problem in arteries which have to accommodate considerable compressive and bending forces that cause mechanical deformation of implanted stents. Existing stent designs do not perform well in these environments and the performance of existing stent technology is limited.
About Seroba Kernel (www.seroba-kernel.com) Seroba Kernel is a life science venture capital firm with offices in Ireland and the UK. In 2009, the firm made a first close of its pan-European Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund II with over €75 million in committed capital. Seroba Kernel and partner firm Kernel Capital have in excess of €190 million under management. Seroba Kernel invests in therapeutic, diagnostic and medical device companies that have the potential to fundamentally change medical care.
About Imperial Innovations (www.imperialinnovations.co.uk) Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy and engineering. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise. Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by: • leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages • providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products • providing operational expertise • helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members. Innovations has exclusive access to scientific and technological developments coming out of Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading research institutions.
About Oxford Capital Partners (www.oxcp.com) Founded in 1999 Oxford Capital is a specialist investment manager working on behalf of institutional and private investors. Its focus is on emerging companies with advanced science and technology. Its expertise lies in accelerating businesses with potential for high growth into global markets. Oxford Capital currently oversees a portfolio of around 30 companies in a range of technology sectors, focusing on three super-growth themes: healthcare, communications and sustainability. It invests across all stages of development, from early stage to IPO and it works with portfolio companies to have access to international markets in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia. The company innovated by pioneering the tax efficient Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Fund and manages £40 million in five Oxford Gateway EIS Funds.
About NESTA (www.nesta.org.uk)
NESTA is the largest independent endowment in the UK. Its mission is to support innovation to drive economic recovery and solve some of the UK’s major social challenges.
Our portfolio of high tech companies includes some of the most exciting early stage companies in the UK and is a compelling demonstration of how a blend of private and public capital can drive world-beating, innovative UK companies.
