Filterlex Medical Secures $3M Series A Funding to Advance CAPTIS, a Next-Generation Embolic Protection Device

On July 15, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that medical device startup Filterlex Medical announced the completion of a $3 million Series A financing round. Details of the financing and investors were not disclosed.

Filterlex Medical, established in 2015 and headquartered in Israel, is a medical device startup specializing in the cardiovascular field. The company aims to develop a new generation of embolic protection devices (CAPTIS) to reduce the risk of stroke and other complications during transcatheter structural heart procedures.

Under the leadership of founder, inventor, and CEO Sigora Eli and Professor Giora Weisz, Filterlex Medical began operations in June 2016 within the Alon MedTech Ventures incubator, owned by Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, a technology entrepreneur and investor in the medical device sector. On June 1, 2016, Filterlex Medical completed a $900,000 seed funding round. In August 2018, Filterlex Medical commenced independent operations.

During catheter-based left-heart procedures (such as TAVI), embolic particles are frequently released into the bloodstream. The migration of these particles to the brain can lead to a spectrum of neurological deficits, including cognitive impairment and debilitating stroke. Furthermore, the release of tumor emboli to distal organs may result in acute kidney injury and ischemia.

CAPTIS is a next-generation systemic embolic protection device that can be easily and intuitively deployed and retrieved within the patient’s body. The device is securely anchored in the patient’s aorta, protecting the vessel wall while facilitating a seamless transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. CAPTIS’s unique triple-action design provides systemic embolic protection by deflecting, capturing, and removing embolic particles. Notably, it does not require additional arterial access and does not interfere with procedural workflow.

Image source: Filterlex Medical official website

CAPTIS’s device concept and unique structure were developed to address patient needs and the limitations and weaknesses of current products. CAPTIS offers a potential cure for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). At the prestigious PCR 2019 Innovation Competition in Paris, Filterlex Medical won the Best Innovation Award and received a $200,000 prize from the Jon DeHaan Foundation.

“At the 2019 EuroPCR congress, leading cardiologists and top industry executives chose to award CAPTIS with the Best Innovation Award. We are deeply honored to receive this distinction from the Jon DeHaan Foundation,” said Sigal Eli, founder, inventor, and CEO of Filterlex Eli. “Out of 80 competing projects, only six innovations were selected as finalists, with our project led by Professor Giora Weisz (co-founder). We will present our product to international cardiologists, and we believe it will become a premier device, benefiting patients undergoing left-heart procedures such as TAVR.”

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)