MedLumics closes upsized EUR 18M (21.7M USD) financing round and appoints new Chairman

MADRID, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MedLumics, a privately held medical device company developing AblaView®, the first optically-guided real-time ablation catheter system for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (AF), announced today that it has closed an upsized EUR 18 million (USD 21.7 million) financing round and has appointed Rich Ferrari as Chairman of the Board of Directors. MedLumics' optical catheter displays lesion creation in real-time providing the physician with direct visual confirmation of conduction tissue denaturation.

Kurma Partners joined the round which includes and was initially led by Asabys Partners, along with new investors, VI Partners Swiss Innovation and CDTI Innvierte Economía, and existing investors Andera Partners, Caixa Capital Risc and Innogest Capital II. Having achieved pre-clinical feasibility in 2020, these proceeds will now enable MedLumics to initiate first in-human regulatory clinical studies and automate scalable product manufacturing.

Concurrent with the financing, Medlumics welcomes renowned venture capital investor Rich Ferrari as new Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Ferrari brings to the team his wealth of experience in medical device innovation and commercialization as a successful CEO of two publicly traded medical technology companies and as co-founder and Managing Director of De Novo Ventures. Current Chairman Olivier Litzka of Andera Partners will assume the role of Vice Chairman.

Commenting on the news, James Greene, CEO of MedLumics, said: "We are very pleased to have received funding from such a strong investment syndicate and I am delighted to welcome Rich Ferrari as Chairman to our Board. We are honoured to have attracted someone of his calibre and look forward to benefiting from his impressive experience to support MedLumics as we progress through our development towards market entry. I would like to give heartfelt thanks to Olivier Litzka for his advice and guidance these past years and we are very grateful for his continued support as Vice Chairman of the Board."

Olivier Litzka, Partner at Andera Partners, commented: "We have seen an intensive and exciting period between 2017 and 2020, in which Medlumics has masterminded technically one of the most difficult to accomplish challenges in the electrophysiology lab by delivering a catheter which is capable of performing real-time lesion assessments during AF ablation. Following this achievement, we are in a favourable position to have attracted Rich Ferrari, an accomplished medtech entrepreneur, executive, board member and investor, and we look forward to moving towards clinical proof of concept under his Chairmanship." 

Rich Ferrari, newly appointed Chairman, added: "I am very excited to be joining such a competent team and board of directors. The Medlumics technology has the potential to greatly enhance clinical outcomes by providing real time feedback on constant contact of the ablation and visual display of the depth and conductivity of the tissue."

Peter Neubeck, Partner at Kurma Partners, said: "We are excited to work with MedLumics in developing a truly innovative technology, a potential game changer in the interventional treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, a multi-billion-euro market opportunity. Patient outcomes will be dramatically impacted by the ability of clinicians to follow in real time the progression of ablations and their quality. We are happy to be joining this talented team and our syndicate partners, in supporting MedLumics' evolution into a successful international business."

Atrial Fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia, currently affecting an estimated 33 million people worldwide. AF recurrence remains high with more than 20% of patients undergoing repeat ablation within one year of initial treatment. Addressing an unmet clinical need, AblaView is the first imaging system to directly assess lesion creation, allowing the operator to confidently ascertain the stability of the contact and the positioning of the catheter on the atrial wall. Recent preclinical studies have been successful in demonstrating reliable monitoring of the continuity and transmurality of the cardiac tissue ablation in real-time.

Rich Ferrari has over 35 years in the healthcare industry, with a demonstrated history of working in the venture capital and private equity industry. Prior to founding De Novo Ventures in 2000, Rich was a successful CEO of medical technology companies, CardioThoracic Systems (CTS) and Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, both of which he took public. Rich remains very active as Executive Chairman of De Novo Ventures and mentors many first time CEOs. He also serves as a faculty member of the Stanford Biodesign Emerging Entrepreneurs Forum, as well as a board member for the Stanford Coulter Foundation for Translational Medicine. Rich holds a BS degree from Ashland University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

About MedLumics

MedLumics SL, founded in Madrid in 2009, is a medical device company focused on the design and development of an optically guided radiofrequency ablation system for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation. Its flagship product, AblaView®, allows the operator to directly assess both the positioning of the ablation catheter on the myocardium and the continuity and transmurality of the ablation. Medlumics Ireland Ltd. is a subsidiary and IDA company developing automated optical sensor and packaging processes for high volume manufacture. www.medlumics.com

February is Heart Awareness Month in a number of countries. Resources and activities are available at the following sites: 25 Ways to Take Part in Heart Month; Heart Month.

About Kurma Partners

Founded in July 2009, Kurma Partners is a key European player in the financing of innovation in healthcare and biotechnology, from pre-seed to growth capital, notably through Kurma Biofund I through III and Kurma Diagnostics, as well as via strategic partnerships with prestigious European research and medical institutions. Innovative projects from Academia and research institutions, aspiring to meet unmet medical need is an important pillar of the firm's investment strategy, a second is venture capital financings of innovative young companies in Biotech and MedTech. www.kurmapartners.com

About Asabys Partners

Asabys Partners is a venture capital manager firm specialized in the healthcare sector, founded by Josep Ll. Sanfeliu and Clara Campàs and participated by Alantra. Its first investment vehicle, Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments SCR, SA, was launched in 2019 and is backed by the Banc Sabadell as reference investor. The fund has a target size of more than €80M and invests in healthcare companies across three verticals: medtech, digital therapeutics and biotech, that have highly innovative and disruptive technologies. The fund's investment in the company benefits from the financial backing of the European Union under the European Fund for Strategic Investments ("EFSI") set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing. www.asabys.com

About VI Partners

VI Partners is Swiss venture capital advisor. Its partners have been working together since 2002. Its mission is to build bridges between entrepreneurs' dreams and successful companies and enable savvy investors to partner with the best start-up companies. VI Partners has been advising Venture Incubator fund since 2002 and its new VI Partners Swiss Innovation Fund since 2020. The managing partners have also been active contributors to the entrepreneurial scene in Switzerland and Europe since the 90s. VI Partners invested over CHF 230m in more than 50 companies since inception. www.vipartners.ch

About CDTI

CDTI is the body from the General State Administration that supports knowledge-based innovation, advising and offering public aid for innovation through subsidies or partially reimbursable aids. CDTI also internationalizes the R&D and innovation business projects of Spanish companies and entities and manages Spanish participation in international R&D organizations, such as Horizonte2020 and Eureka, as well as in the Science and Space industries. Additionally, through the Innvierte Economía Sostenible initiative, it supports and facilitates the capitalization of technology companies. www.cdti.es

About Caixa Capital Risc

Caixa Capital Risc is Criteria Caixa's venture capital management arm. With more than 10 years of experience, provides equity and participating loans for innovative companies with a high growth potential across three verticals: Life Science, ICTs, and Industrial Technologies. Through nine different investment vehicles, Caixa Capital Risc currently manages a portfolio of 123 innovative companies in Spain and Portugal, for a total volume of 230 million euros. Of these, 24 companies are in the Life Sciences sector, for a total volume of 100 million euros. https://www.caixacapitalrisc.es/en/

About ANDERA

Andera Partners (previously Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners) is a leading investor in minority investments into privately owned companies. Its Life Sciences team brings together deep experience both over 60 years of experience in the Life Science industry and more than 100 years of private equity and venture capital experience.in the Life Science industry and in private equity and venture capital. The team has raised more than € 1 bn through its BioDiscovery franchise and is currently starting to invest out of its new BioDiscovery 6 fund, both in biotech and medtech, and all over Europe and the US. https://www.anderapartners.com/en/

About INNOGEST

Innogest is a venture capital firm founded in 2005 with offices in Turin, Milan and San Francisco. With over €200 million of capital under management, Innogest Capital focuses on promising seed and early stage ventures developing medical devices, diagnostics and digital health and is particularly active in oncology, cardiology and neurology. http://www.innogestcapital.com/

SOURCE MedLumics