Magenta Medical Secures New Funding Round to Advance FDA Submissions for Novel Venous Catheter Therapies

On July 29, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that medical device company Magenta Medical announced the completion of a new round of financing, with the amount undisclosed. This round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from Pitango Venture Capital, JVC Investment Partners, and a group of private investors led by Professor Jacques Seguin.

The funds from this round of financing will be used to advance the development of Magenta Medical’s two cardiovascular disease treatment products and support their initial FDA approvals. Tak Cheung, a partner at NEA, will join the board of directors of Magenta Medical.

It is reported that Magenta Medical completed its Series B financing in 2017, raising $15 million, with the round led by Abiomed, a developer of transcatheter heart pumps. Although the amount of this current round has not been disclosed, the fact that it was led by New Enterprise Associates suggests that the funding totals tens of millions of dollars.

Magenta Medical, established on October 1, 2012, and headquartered in Israel, is a clinical research and development company specializing in intravenous catheter-based therapeutic devices, dedicated to developing novel device solutions for heart failure. Magenta Medical was founded by two entrepreneurs, Ehud Schwammenthal and Yosi Tuval, who previously co-founded Ventor Technologies, a medical device company acquired by Medtronic in 2009 for $325 million.

Magenta Medical offers catheter-based therapies that reduce hospital stays for heart failure patients caused by cardiac and renal congestion. The company’s technology is akin to inserting a flow pump on the venous side, thereby enabling the kidneys to enhance or optimize the clearance of inorganic nanoparticles.

Magenta currently has two medical devices: one is a percutaneous device used to decompress the kidneys in patients with acute venous congestion and volume overload; the other is a percutaneous left ventricular assist device, commonly known as an LVAD, which is a small catheter-based arterial pump that moves blood from the left ventricle into the aorta. This device is designed to improve outcomes for patients with acute heart failure.

Heart failure is a global public health epidemic affecting more than 26 million people worldwide, including 6.5 to 9 million Europeans and over 5.5 million Americans. The heart failure device market is projected to grow to nearly $6 billion over the next two years. Heart failure is a leading cause of hospitalization in the European Union and the United States, imposing a substantial burden on patients and society. In the United States alone, annual hospitalization costs amount to $26 billion and are expected to more than double over the next 15 years.

“We are delighted that Magenta Medical has become our first medtech investment in Israel, representing the pivotal role Israeli companies play in global life sciences innovation,” said Dr. Josh Makower, General Partner and Head of MedTech Investing at NEA.

“Magenta Medical is developing a highly unique and potentially groundbreaking technology that will significantly advance the field of medical devices,” said Dr. Tak Cheung, Managing Partner at NEA.

NEA is a global venture capital firm founded in 1977 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, USA. The firm is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs at all stages, with cumulative capital exceeding $19 billion. NEA primarily invests in sectors such as software services, consumer, internet, energy, and healthcare, having completed over 2,000 investments and more than 300 acquisitions to date.

Pitango Venture Capital, established in 1993 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is a venture capital firm. The company focuses on seed-stage, growth-stage, and late-stage investments in the IT, life sciences, and clean technology sectors in Israel and the United States.

The company has an office in Silicon Valley. Currently, it manages several venture capital funds with total investments exceeding $1.6 billion.

JVC Investment Partners, established in 2000, is a private investment firm dedicated to investing in the healthcare industry. By investing its own capital and leveraging its deep operational expertise, JVC Investment Partners collaborates with owners and managers of middle-market companies.

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)