Healthcare Industry News:  peripheral artery disease 

Devices Venture Capital

 News Release - May 20, 2009

Pathway Medical Technologies Closes $42.5M Series D Financing; Announces New Investment From WRF Capital

New Series D Investor Further Validates the Promise of Pathway’s Treatment for peripheral artery disease

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc., an innovator of endovascular treatments for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), today announced that WRF Capital, the venture investment arm of Washington Research Foundation (WRF), an independent, nonprofit foundation whose mission is to capture and enhance the value of intellectual property arising from Washington state research institutions, has invested $1.5 million as part of Pathway’s Series D round of financing. Other organizations already participating in the round include Forbion Capital Partners, Giza Venture Capital, HLM Venture Partners, Latterell Venture Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners and individual investors.

“In selecting companies to invest in, WRF Capital looks for organizations based in Washington state that are developing unique technologies with strong intellectual property, large compelling markets and long-term growth potential,” said Thong Q. Le, managing director, WRF Capital. “Pathway met and exceeded all our criteria. Since entering the market less than a year ago, Pathway has demonstrated a commitment to delivering exceptional technologies to meet the growing population of PAD sufferers across the country and around the globe. This investment marks our largest to date and reinforces our belief in the promise of the Jetstream® platform and Pathway. We look forward to a long and successful partnership.”

WRF was founded in 1981 to assist universities and other nonprofit research institutions in the state of Washington with commercialization of their technologies and to provide support, through gifts and grants, for scholarship and research. The Foundation has benefited Washington state research institutions by licensing a variety of technologies to industry, including the basis for hepatitis B virus vaccine, blood clotting factors, recombinant insulin and wireless technology supporting the “Bluetooth” protocol.

WRF Capital is the venture investment arm of WRF. A leading early-stage investor, WRF Capital partners with entrepreneurs, local universities, research institutions and other investors to develop technology-based start-up companies. The organization seeks to generate outstanding returns through its investing activities and use these proceeds to help WRF further its mission to support research and scholarships, laying the groundwork for the next generation of promising technologies.

“WRF Capital has been at the center of many of the most innovative technologies coming out of Washington state and we are excited to be working with such a renowned organization right in our backyard as we grow Pathway and establish Jetstream G2™ as a transformational therapy for treating PAD,” said Mike Behlke, Pathway’s chief operating officer and executive vice president of Finance. “The Foundation’s investment brings our total Series D round to $42.5 million, ensuring that we have the resources necessary to continue to grow our manufacturing organization, expand and enhance product capabilities, provide exceptional training and support for customers, and prepare for profitability despite a challenging economic and business climate.”

The Pathway Jetstream G2™, cleared by the FDA in 2009, is a peripheral revascularization catheter designed to remove all types of artery-clogging plaque, from calcium to thrombus. Jetstream G2 offers specific design enhancements to Pathway’s first-generation device launched in September 2008. The product received an additional indication for the removal of thrombus, creating new options for physicians treating PAD. This innovative and minimally invasive solution clears blockages in the peripheral vasculature, restores blood flow and effectively treats PAD.

About Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc.

Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc. was founded to design, market and manufacture medical devices for the treatment of arterial disease. The company’s initial focus is treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD) more quickly and effectively than existing technologies. An estimated 12 million people are afflicted by PAD in the U.S. and that number is projected to grow to over 20 million during the next 10 years. The company’s Jetstream® and Jetstream G2™ devices allow for a minimally invasive procedure designed to restore circulation in the peripheral vasculature by removing both hard and soft diseased tissue. For further information, visit the company’s Web site at www.pathwaymedical.com.


Source: Pathway Medical Technologies

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