Protembis raise €30M Series B for heart surgery device

Medtech company Protembis have raised a €30M Series B round to support the enrollment of their PROTEMBO Investigational Device in clinical trials.

The device protects patients from brain injury during leftsided heart surgery, wherein lack of bloodflow to the brain - its “ischemic burden” - can result in cognitive decline, dementia or strokes. The company focuses particularly on brain protection during transcatheter aortic valve replacement, with its investigational device employing a catheter-based system to deflect embolic material away from bloodflow to the brain. In 2023, Protembis successfully completed 20 clinical implementations of the device in its European regulatory study and now plans to focus on protecting younger patients from brain injury risk.

The funding round was co-led by a European consortium of VC investors including Sweden-based Segulah Medical Acceleration, Italy-based XGEN Venture and Germany-based TechVision Fund. Other investors include Coparion, several large family offices and angel investors.

Protembis have also appointed Keith D. Dawkins, MD, to its board of directors. With over 20 years as a practicing interventional cardiologist, he has held research roles as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University, served as President of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society. He also served as CMO of Shockwave, a medtech company using technological interventions to modify calcium levels in the vascular system. 

Dr. Dawkins commented:

“As a long-term believer in the need to protect the brain from all new lesions during transcatheter aortic valve replacement, I am very pleased to join Protembis”, said Dr. Dawkins. “The ProtEmbo System and the clinical trial design are both novel and I am confident that they will be highly disruptive to the field of cerebral embolic protection, removing or mitigating many of the current issues that concern the physician community.”

“To have such a visionary leader as Dr. Dawkins join our Board of Directors is an exciting indication of the opportunities that cerebral embolic protection holds for future transcatheter therapies. We look forward to close collaboration as the field develops and our superiority trial gains momentum.” said Azin Parhizgar, PhD, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors.