Venture Capital Firms

VC Firm, Biostar Ventures Leads $5.1 Million in Series B Funding for Embrella Cardiovascular, Inc.

Based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Embrella Cardiovascular had announced that it has closed a $5.1 million in a series B funding with Biostar Ventures. Other players in this funding include the company’s existing investor, MedFocus Fund and several undisclosed existing and new private investors.

Embrella Cardiovascular is currently developing an embolic protection device that is known as the “Embolic Deflector.” Emboli are dangerous debris that can accumulate in the cardiovascular system and can cause damage if they enter the brain, by blocking vital blood flow into the brain. This new device is designed to deflect this embolic debris from entering the brain during cardiac procedures.

According to the company’s chairman, Jeffry O’Donnell; the moneys from this funding will go to clinical trials outside of the United States, and Mr. O’Donnell expects that these trials are to start this year. This funding will also go to get the Embolic Deflector to function and ready for market in the near future.

The Embolic Deflector is a device that is designed to be an adjunctive device used in certain less invasive procedures, such as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation; which is a procedure used to treat severe aortic stenosis. During this procedure a catheter is implanted into the aorta, which has a balloon that uses a wire mesh to keep the aorta open and also removes the plaque buildup in the aorta. Some of these particles are dislodged and can flow throughout the cardiovascular system and get into smaller veins or capillaries and cause them to clog, blocking vital blood flow to that part of the body. When this happens, this is known as an embolism. Embolisms are especially dangerous if the emboli are in the veins near the brain. When an embolism occurs in the brain, it can cause serious brain damage that can lead to paralysis or even death. The Embrella Embolic Deflector is to prevent this from happening after procedures, such as the above mentioned one that has the potential to release emboli into the bloodstream.

Biostar Ventures is a partnership that mainly offers venture capital to early stage companies that are in the medical device industry. The vc partnership was put together by physicians and medical business leaders. The vc partnership was founded in 2003 and boasts of a unique marriage of physicians and venture capitalists to be there as a resource for medical companies. The key focus to Biostar’s investments are in the fields of cardiovascular medicine, orthopedics, neuroscience, and gastroenterology. Some companies in Biostar’s portfolio include AorTx, Advantis, Broncus Technologies, Devax, Guided Delivery Systems, and others.

MedFocus was founded in 1993 and is a division of InVentiv Clinical Solutions, LLC. The purpose of MedFocus is to advise medical institutions and also invests in certain medical companies that have good potential to meet unmet clinical and medical needs.

For more information on Embrella Cardiovascular, click here.

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