Veryan Holdings Raises £3.6 Million

Veryan Holdings Ltd., a UK-based developer of vasculat stent technology, has raised £3.6 million in new VC funding. Seroba Kernal led the round, and was joined by return backers Imperial Innovations, Oxford Capital Partners and NESTA.

PRESS RELEASE

Veryan Holdings Limited (“Veryan”) announced today that it has secured additional funding totaling £3.6 million (US $5.4 million) from a syndicate of Investors led by new investor Seroba Kernel, a European life science venture capital firm, alongside existing investors Imperial Innovations, Oxford Capital Partners Limited and NESTA. The funds will be employed to finance further development activities and a pivotal clinical trial designed to show the clinical benefit of Veryans’ unique BioMimics 3D™ stent technology.

Veryan technology

Peripheral vascular disease treatment is one of the fastest growing segments of the cardiovascular device market, the potential market value is in excess of $1 billion. Existing stent technologies have demonstrated significant performance shortfalls including restenosis (re-narrowing) and inadequate mechanical performance leading to suboptimal clinical results.

Veryan is developing a novel stent platform technology that imposes a 3-dimensional helical geometry onto the stented vessel segment which generates physiological swirling blood flow and has been shown to significantly reduce restenosis (re-narrowing) in pre-clinical experiments. In addition, Veryan has established that the 3D geometry confers significant mechanical benefits. The BioMimics 3D stents are more flexible, kink resistant and fracture resistant than traditional stents. The Veryan concept was originally conceived by Professor Colin Caro at Imperial College, London.

Initially targeted at peripheral vessels, the BioMimics 3D technology is also being developed for all vascular stent applications, this will allow the company to target entry into the total stent market (currently estimated in excess of $4 billion).

First in human study

Veryan has recently commenced a First in Human and CE Mark study at Herz Zentrum, Bad Krozingen, Germany. The Principal Investigator is Professor Thomas Zeller, a recognized global expert in vascular medicine. As well as providing supporting data for achievement of CE Mark status, this study will evaluate the clinical performance attributes of the BioMimics 3D technology against a contemporary control stent and will include the assessment of a number of differentiating features of the Veryan stent technology.

Chas Taylor, Veryan’s Chief Executive, commented: “The initial results of our first in human study are excellent and appear to confirm the attributes that we have seen in pre-clinical studies. We are excited by the potential that the Company has to significantly influence the design of vascular stents in the future, we believe that this technology will provide significant clinical benefit in the treatment of vascular disease. We are delighted to welcome Seroba Kernel to our list of investors and wish to acknowledge the continued support of our existing investors.”

Alan O’Connell, Partner at Seroba Kernel, added: ”We were attracted by the commercial potential of the Veryan technology to address the significant clinical and market need for improved stent performance. The Veryan management team is top class and the company has a world class team of medical advisors.”