Healthcare Industry News: Orqis Medical
News Release - March 26, 2007
Orqis(R) Medical Corporation Raises $12 Million in Equity Financing
Including New Investors Wasatch Advisors and the Omega FundLAKE FOREST, Calif., March 26 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Orqis Medical Corporation, developer of the Cancion® and Exeleras® Systems to treat congestive heart failure, announced today the second closing of its Series D round of financing, raising an additional $12 million. This brings the total funds raised in the Series D round to $34.7 million. The Company raised $22.7 million in an earlier closing of the round. Investors in the most recent financing include existing investors and three new investors including Wasatch Advisors, Inc. and its private equity affiliate, Cross Creek Capital, and the Omega Fund.
"We are pleased with the level of support the company has received from both new and existing investors in this financing," stated Ken Charhut, President and CEO of Orqis Medical. "These funds will enable the company to complete the MOMENTUM Pivotal Trial, submit the PMA application for the percutaneous Cancion System to the FDA, and advance the Exeleras implantable device through first human use."
"We are excited to join Orqis Medical in its development of novel therapies for the treatment of congestive heart failure" stated Jeff Cardon, President of Wasatch Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the Wasatch Small-Cap Growth Fund. "We believe Orqis Medical is a compelling opportunity because of the company's prospect of addressing a large unmet clinical need, promising initial clinical trial results and the strength of its management team."
About Heart Failure
Almost 5 million Americans -- and 14 million worldwide -- suffer from heart failure, a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and cannot pump blood efficiently. Heart failure is caused by coronary artery disease, past myocardial infarctions and other underlying cardiovascular disorders, and it is characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing and edema. Improved therapies are crucial to advancing heart failure treatment, a disease that causes more than one million of hospitalizations each year and costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $29 billion annually.
About Orqis Medical Corporation
Orqis Medical Corporation is a privately-held, clinical-stage medical device company seeking to redefine heart failure therapy by developing products that prevent or reverse underlying disease progression and provide new treatment options to the clinical community to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
The company's percutaneous Cancion System, for the treatment of acutely decompensated heart failure, is CE marked and is currently under an investigational device exemption (IDE) investigation in the United States in the MOMENTUM Pivotal Trial. The company's implantable Exeleras System, about the size of an implantable cardiacverter defibrillator (ICD), is designed to treat mid- to late-stage chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Orqis Medical, please visit www.orqis.com and for the MOMENTUM Trial, please visit: www.momentumtrial.com.
About Wasatch Advisors, Inc. & Cross Creek Capital
Wasatch Advisors, Inc. is a 30-year old investment adviser that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. As of December 31, 2006, Wasatch Advisors managed approximately $9 billion in assets for pension and profit sharing plans, unions, foundations, endowments, individuals, trusts and investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Wasatch Advisors pursues a disciplined approach to investing, focused on bottom-up, fundamental analysis designed to develop a deep understanding of the investment potential of individual companies.
Wasatch Advisors' private equity affiliate, Cross Creek Capital, is a venture capital fund exempt from SEC registration. Cross Creek Capital makes select, late-stage private equity investments in companies that meet its criteria of the best-of-breed public companies of the future. Cross Creek Capital is managed by an investment committee that consists of senior portfolio managers of the Wasatch Advisors research team. The investment committee may utilize other members of the Wasatch Advisors research team to evaluate and analyze potential Cross Creek Capital investments.
About Omega Fund Management Limited
With offices in London and Guernsey, the Omega Fund is a specialized investment fund providing liquidity to existing investors in healthcare companies. Omega's investment focus is the acquisition and subsequent management of direct ownership interests in both U.S. and European public and private biopharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Note: Orqis®, Cancion®, and Exeleras® are among the trademarks or registered trademarks of Orqis Medical Corporation.
Source: Orqis Medical
Issuer of this News Release is solely responsible for its
content.
Please address inquiries directly to the issuing company.
