Aortica has completed its Series-A financing. The privately funded round totalled US$7m and was oversubscribed by a factor of two. Aortica will use the funds to complete its IDE pivotal study.
In conjunction with the completion of the Series-A financing, the company also announced the appointment of Tom Douthitt as president and chief executive officer. Douthitt has 28 years of experience in the medical device industry. In addition, co-founder Ben Starnes has joined the company’s board of directors. Starnes is the chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center and will also serve as the company’s chief medical officer.
Aortica has developed an approach designed for treatment of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms disease who experience anatomical abnormalities, which limit their treatment options to major open surgery. “Approximately 30-40% of patients diagnosed annually in the USA with moderate to severe abdominal aortic aneurysms disease are ineligible for less invasive endovascular therapy due to anatomical limitations,” states Starnes. “Aortica has developed an approach designed to allow standard endografts to be customised to fit each patient’s unique anatomy. Consequently, patients who previously were faced with a highly invasive surgical course now will have the option of far less invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).”
“EVAR is now the ‘gold standard’ for abdominal aortic aneurysms repair in the USA, and is associated with lower mortality rates, shorter hospital stays, and faster return to activities of normal daily living when compared to open surgery,” adds Douthitt. “The oversubscription of our Series-A financing is a clear reflection of the enthusiasm around the potential of the technology developed by Starnes.”
