Filterlex Medical has raised $4M in total. We talk with Sigal Eli, its CEO.
PetaCrunch: How would you describe Filterlex Medical in a single tweet?
Sigal Eli: Filterlex develops the CAPTIS, a full-body embolic protection system for TAVR procedures (Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Replacement).
PC: How did it all start and why?
SE: As an Interventional cardiology imaging expert, I was very much aware of the need for embolic protection devices to reduce the risk of stroke and I was also familiar with competitive devices. I recognized that these devices have many disadvantages and set out to design a device that would provide a full-body embolic protection. Soon after, 3 additional founders joined me:
- Eyal Teichman – mechanical engineer with over 25 years of experience in implantable devices in the cardiovascular field.
- Giora Weisz, MD – renowned interventional cardiologist and the Director of Interventional Cardiology at Montefiore Medical center, NY.
- Ron Davidson – seasoned executive with 20 years’ experience in managing and accelerating companies in the healthcare field.
In June 2016 Filterlex started operating at the Alon MedTech medical incubator owned by Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, one of Israel’s leading medical entrepreneurs and founder and investor of numerous medical technology firms.
PC: What have you achieved so far?
SE: Earlier this year we closed $3M in Round A of financing. We are now in the final stages of testing the CAPTIS embolic protection system and preparing for First in Human study in 2020. Last May, the CAPTIS received the Best Innovation Award by the Jon DeHaan Foundation at the EuroPCR 2019 conference in Paris. In July Filterlex was selected for the prestigious HORIZON 2020 Phase 2 grant program.
PC: How will you use your recent funding round?
SE: Round A proceeds together with the Best Innovation Award prize and the HORIZON 2020 grant and will allow us to complete the FIH study and perform additional clinical trials.
PC: What do you plan to achieve in the next 2-3 years?
SE: We plan to obtain CE mark and start a US pivotal trial towards FDA clearance.
