Vestagen Closes $9.5 Million Financing to Advance Adoption of Its VESTEX® Active Barrier Healthcare Uniforms

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestagen Protective Technologies, Inc., which develops and markets VESTEX^® Active Barrier¹ fabric healthcare uniforms, lab coats and patient garments, today announced the closing of a $9.5 million financing. Existing investors Advent Life Sciences and HealthQuest Capital, and new investors Greenline Ventures, Northwell Ventures and Mercy Health of Cincinnati, participated in the funding round.

Proceeds from the financing will primarily be used to generate additional clinical evidence of VESTEX's ability to protect healthcare workers and patients from the risks of unanticipated exposures to body fluids, to obtain regulatory review of the protective properties of VESTEX fabric and to expand the company's commercialization activities.

"The need for new approaches to support the safety of our healthcare system has helped propel adoption of our VESTEX Active Barrier uniforms by leading institutions such as Northwell Health and Mercy Health," said Bill Bold, Chief Executive Officer of Vestagen. "This financing provides additional resources for our clinical and regulatory initiatives and enables expansion of the commercialization activities we are conducting on our own and with the support of partners. We appreciate the confidence of our existing investors and welcome our new investors. We are especially proud that our new investors include two healthcare organizations who are also Vestagen customers—in our view a tremendous validation of the value and potential of VESTEX attire."

"Investing in young companies with disruptive potential such as Vestagen is an important part of our economic development mission," said Patrick Vahey, President of Greenline Ventures. "Vestagen has made substantial progress in achieving adoption of its breakthrough VESTEX apparel by influential healthcare leaders. We are pleased to support their next phase of growth by providing capital that will help them achieve their business targets while creating high quality jobs in the geographic areas where they operate."

"Northwell Ventures invests in growth companies whose innovative products and services aim to strengthen the patient and customer experience and enhance organizational effectiveness," said Michael Dowling, President and CEO of Northwell Health. "We are pleased to be able to participate in Vestagen's new financing, as its VESTEX uniforms are already making a difference in our hospitals in addressing what we see as a large unmet need and market opportunity."

"Mercy Health is a mission-driven organization that supports the development of promising companies with the potential to make a positive difference for our community," said Justin McGoldrick, MD, Mercy Health's Chief Medical Officer, Research and Innovation. "Vestagen's VESTEX uniforms, which represent a practical technology-based solution designed to support the everyday safety of healthcare workers and patients, align with our Mission and Values. As we pilot VESTEX attire within our healthcare facilities, we are pleased to have the opportunity to participate in their future success."

VESTEX Active Barrier fabric is a unique combination of technologies used to produce comfortable, continuous-wear healthcare worker and patient garments intended to minimize the risks associated with unanticipated exposure to body fluids during routine use, by repelling fluid splatter and spills from the fabric. It contains an EPA-registered antimicrobial agent² shown in controlled conditions in laboratory and hospital settings to inhibit the growth of certain bacteria on the fabric^{3, 4} A peer reviewed hospital-based study published in a leading medical journal showed reduced acquisition and retention of certain microorganisms on VESTEX scrubs compared to conventional healthcare uniforms. VESTEX has earned an exclusive endorsement from the American Hospital Association.

For more information about Vestagen and VESTEX, visit vestagen.com and VESTEX.com.

1 - Neither liquid repellency nor antimicrobial tests are intended to assess the VESTEX active barrier apparel's ability to meet personal protective equipment requirements. The ability of the fabric to reduce exposure to microorganisms or infections has not been studied.
2 - VESTEX garments do not protect users or others against disease-causing bacteria. Always clean the garment thoroughly after each use.
3 - Bearman, G., Rosato, A., Elam, K., Sanogo, K., Stevens, M., Sessler, C., and Wenzel, R. P., "A Cross-over Trial of Antimicrobial Scrubs to Reduce MRSA Burden on Healthcare Worker Apparel," Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol., Vol. 33, No. 3, 2012, pp. 268–275.
4 - Hardwick, Matthew, Walsh, Thomas, and Cotton, Margaret, "Fabric Challenge Assays: New Standards for the Evaluation of the Performance of Textiles Treated with Antimicrobial Agents," Pesticide Formulation and Delivery Systems: Innovating Legacy Products for New Uses on November 1–3, 2011 in Tampa FL; STP 1558, M. Bernards, Editor, pp. 1–14, doi: 101520/STP155820120184, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA 2013.

About Advent Life Sciences
Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of experienced professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the US and Europe, and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France. For more information, please visit AdventLS.com.

About Greenline Ventures, LLC
Greenline Ventures specializes in capital markets solutions for economic development activities nationwide. To date, the firm has raised over $1.8 billion of capital and invested over $2.5 billion in projects and businesses nationwide. Greenline Ventures, which is 100% employee owned and operated, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and maintains offices in Washington DC and Baltimore, Maryland. . For more information, visit greenlineventures.com/.

About HealthQuest Capital
HealthQuest Capital makes go-to-market and early growth investments in innovative healthcare companies that are improving both patient outcomes and healthcare economics. Investments focus on the medical device, diagnostics, patient care products, consumer health/OTC and healthcare IT fields. The HealthQuest investing team includes deep operational, clinical and scientific expertise and worldwide relationships throughout the healthcare industry that can be leveraged to add value to our portfolio companies. HealthQuest Capital is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in Southern California, Florida, and Georgia. For more information, please visit healthquestcapital.com.

About Mercy Health
Mercy Health (formerly Catholic Health Partners) is the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest health systems in the United States, employing more than 33,500 employees in Ohio and Kentucky. With $6 billion in assets, Mercy Health operates nearly 500 health facilities, including 23 hospitals, eight senior living communities, five hospice programs and seven home health agencies. Its accountable care organization (ACO), Mercy Health Select, is one of the top 10 ACO's in the country for Medicare Shared Savings, generating more than $15 million in savings in 2014. In keeping with its mission, Mercy Health provides about $1 million per day in community benefit services. Mercy Health is a founding member of Health Innovations Ohio, which focuses on providing health services that result in higher quality, better health and greater value. For more information, visit www.mercy.com or connect with Mercy Health on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Twitter (@LivingMercyHlth).

About Northwell Ventures
Northwell Ventures (NV), the corporate venture arm of Northwell Health, launched a fund to invest in and actively manage companies that represent a current or future strategic interest. The NV fund seeks to identify and invest in novel technologies and business models that have the prospect to advance Northwell's growth and generate attractive returns. The group, as a whole, works to accelerate Northwell's broader strategic healthcare focus by utilizing Northwell as a laboratory to rapidly validate technologies, new business models, and conduct research to build profitable companies and increase the quality of care for our patients. For more information, please visit northwell.edu/ventures

About Vestagen Protective Technologies, Inc.
Vestagen develops advanced performance textile products and technologies including VESTEX^®, which represents a new class of Active Barrier protective fabrics combining antimicrobial, liquid repellent and breathability properties. VESTEX fabric is designed to protect the uniforms and apparel healthcare workers and their patients wear. For more information, visit www.vestagen.com.

Vestagen Contacts

SOURCE Vestagen Protective Technologies, Inc.

Related Links

http://vestagen.com