Metactive Medical Issued Patents on Blockstent and Ballstent Embolization Devices

Metactive Medical Inc., an early-stage company developing embolization devices for the treatment of peripheral vascular and neurovascular diseases, has been issued U.S. Patents 9,572,697 and 9,572,698 covering its Ballstent Microcatheter for embolization of cerebral aneurysms, and its Blockstent Microcatheter for embolization of peripheral arteries and veins. These proprietary microcatheter devices deliver a compressed gold metal implant over a 0.014-inch guidewire to treatment sites, where the implant is expanded and then detached to permanently stop blood flow.
 
“We designed the Blockstent and Ballstent devices to provide an ideal solution for embolization. These devices are low profile, easy to use, and can quickly be placed with a high degree of precision, resulting in immediate, complete, and lasting cessation of blood flow,” said F. Nicholas Franano M.D., president and CEO of Metactive.

The new patents are part of an intellectual property portfolio that also contains numerous additional patent applications to which Metactive has exclusive rights in the United States and major international markets. The portfolio covers four major patent families and includes methods of treating aneurysms, arteries, and veins, as well as related embolization devices.
 
Metactive also announced the closing of $1.5 million of additional Series A financing, co-led by Mid-America Angels, with the participation of a family office and additional individual investors. Metactive previously raised $7.5 million in Series A funding, bringing the total funding raised to $9 million.
 
“Metactive has made steady progress against its development milestones for Blockstent and Ballstent. We are pleased to support the advancement of both devices towards clinical testing and commercialization,” said Rick Vaughn, managing director of Mid-America Angels.
 
“This new funding provides Metactive with the resources to continue the development and testing of its novel embolization devices,” said Franano. “Our preclinical study results show that both devices routinely provide immediate, complete, and durable occlusion, something that market leading coils, flow diverting stents, and mesh vascular plugs can’t deliver. We look forward to a time when standing in the interventional suite wearing heavy lead protective garments, placing multiple devices, and performing serial angiography waiting for a vessel to occlude will no longer be required to complete an embolization procedure.”
 
Peripheral vascular embolization is a minimally invasive treatment that blocks the flow of blood in selected segments of arteries and veins, enabling physicians to stop life threatening bleeding, divert blood away from cancerous tumors or other abnormal tissues as well as from damaged or malformed segments of blood vessels.
 
More than 170,000 peripheral vascular embolization procedures are performed each year worldwide using coils and vascular plugs. There is currently a need for peripheral vascular embolization devices that can be placed quickly and easily, and with a high degree of precision, that result in immediate and lasting artery and vein occlusion.
 
Cerebral aneurysm embolization is a minimally invasive treatment that blocks the flow of blood into cerebral aneurysms as a method of treating or preventing hemorrhagic stroke. More than 150,000 cerebral aneurysm embolization procedures are performed worldwide each year using coils and flow-diverting vascular stents. There is currently a need for cerebral aneurysm embolization devices that can be placed quickly, easily, and with a high degree of precision, and that provide immediate and lasting cerebral aneurysm occlusion.
 
Metactive is developing endovascular medical devices for the treatment of neurovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. Metactive’s first products enable precise and immediate occlusion and rapid sealing of cerebral aneurysms and other target vessel segments using an over-the-wire microcatheter platform.