Strasbourg, France, June 7, 2012 – ProTip SA, a Strasbourg-based emerging medical device company, announces today a USD 4.7 (EUR 3.8) million Series C financing round. The round was led by new VC investor Seventure, along with existing investors including Fonds Lorrain des Materiaux (FLM), the Berchet family-office, Alsace Amorcage and other private investors.
ProTip will use the funding to complete the company’s first human clinical trial of its ENTegral(TM) device, the world’s first permanent implant to replace the larynx in patients who have undergone a total laryngectomy. It will also launch wider trials with the aim of bringing the implant to market. Since inception, ProTip has raised a total of EUR 6.8 million and has managed its development closely in line with its business plan.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Seventure as a new partner,” said Maurice Berenger, CEO of ProTip. “More than mere financial resources, Seventure brings us its expertise and a conclusive track record as an experienced medical device investor.”
“There is currently no available solution for laryngectomized patients. ProTip’s ENTegral(TM) is designed to allow patients to go back to a normal, unimpaired social life,” added Berenger. “This Series C cash infusion will enable ProTip to move forward with this breakthrough medical device.”
“We have been particularly attracted by the quality of the product portfolio dedicated to ear, nose and throat (ENT) applications, a medical sector where very few major innovations have come out these last few years,” said Emmanuel Fiessinger, general partner at Seventure. “The team has very high level financial and academic partners committed to this project, including a very strong public-private alliance, and this definitively convinced Seventure to support this company.”
“To have Seventure on board in this exciting venture is a further endorsement of the quality of the company,” said Laurent Bocahut, investment manager at FLM and member of ProTip’s supervisory board. “With this successful round, ProTip is in an excellent position to become a market leader in the field of laryngology. This great achievement illustrates the quality and proficiency of ProTip’s operational team.”
“Today, there is no available treatment that alleviates the need for a definitive tracheotomy for patients having undergone total laryngectomy,” said Christian Debry, MD, PhD, head of ENT department at Strasbourg Teaching Hospital and co-founder of ProTip. “The ENTegral implant aims to restore respiration through natural ways and to give laryngectomized patients access to a much better life.”
About ProTip
ProTip SA is a privately held medical device company dedicated to the development of innovative solutions for patients suffering from larynx malfunctions. Its priority focus is to develop a permanent implant for laryngectomized patients. ProTip, based in Strasbourg (Eastern France), was founded in 2004 and has since benefited from strong support from the Alsace region and Oseo, the French public agency for innovation. The company has won several prestigious awards in France. It has established partnerships with a number of academic institutions. The international expansion of the company has recently accelerated due to the ISO certification and CE mark achievement on essential product lines. http://www.protipmedical.com
About Seventure Partners
One of the leading venture capital firms in Europe, Seventure manages EUR 500m and has invested since 1997 in innovative businesses with high growth potential in information and communication technologies and in life sciences. The life sciences team invests all over Europe. Its four preferred sectors are biotech and pharmaceuticals, medtech, industrial biotech and cleantech, and lifestyle, healthcare and nutrition. A typical investment ranges from EUR 500k to EUR 10m per round, up to EUR 20m per company, from early to later stage. Seventure is a subsidiary of Natixis, part of BPCE, one of the largest French banks. For further information see http://www.seventure.fr
About Fonds Lorrain des Matériaux (FLM)
FLM is a Lorraine-based French venture capital fund specializing in equity investment for innovative start-up projects and companies active in the field of materials technology. FLM originated in 2009 through a joint-venture between ArcelorMittal group, CDC Entreprises and the Lorraine Region, and has since invested more than EUR 8M in nine venture projects ranging from nanotechnologies to green chemistry, medical devices, recycling etc. To learn more about FLM, please visit http://www.flm-investissement.com
Mark Tidmarsh
ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES
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