Protembis Nabs €30 Million in Funding

Protembis GmbH (Protembis) has completed a €30 million Series B financing round to help fund enrollment in the PROTEMBO Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Pivotal Trial. Structured in two separate capital increases, 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 supporters included Coparion, several large family offices, angel investors, and a multinational medical device strategic.
 
“We are delighted to complete the round and would like to thank our existing investors as well as the new investors for their trust and confidence,” Protembis Co-CEOs Karl von Mangoldt and Conrad Rasmus said. “It reflects the fact the field of cerebral embolic protection is buoyant, and that future growth will be driven by younger and lower risk patients who have zero tolerance for brain injury risk when selecting to undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement.”
 
In addition to announcing the funding, Protembis named Keith D. Dawkins, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dawkins has more than 35 years’ experience in the cardiovascular environment, having spent over two decades as a practicing interventional cardiologist in the United Kingdom. He has held research roles as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University, served as president of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society, and authored more than 750 academic publications and presentations. Dawkins has been chief medical officer (CMO) of Shockwave Medical since 2019; before that, he was global CMO at Boston Scientific Corp., where he worked in senior positions since his 2008 hiring. He also serves as a member of the boards of Ventric Health LLC and JenaValve Technology Inc., as well as chairman of InnovHeart s.r.l.

“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,” Protembis Board Chair Azin Parhizgar, Ph.D., stated.

Dawkins will use his expertise to shape Protembis’s clinical strategies and pre-commercial programs as the IDE study reaches its conclusion. 
 
“As a believer in the need to protect the brain from all new lesions during transcatheter aortic valve replacement, I am pleased to join Protembis,” Dawkins said. “The ProtEmbo System and the clinical trial design are both novel and I am confident they will be disruptive to the field of cerebral embolic protection, removing or mitigating many of the current issues that concern the physician community.”
 
The ProtEmbo Cerebral Protection System is an intra-aortic filter device that protects the entire brain from embolic material liberated during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). It is a low-profile non thrombogenic system that shields all cerebral vessels, delivered through the left radial artery for optimal placement and stability. This is an ideal access site enabling physicians to avoid interference with TAVR equipment typically delivered through the femoral artery. 

Protembis is a privately held emerging medical device company that has developed the ProtEmbo Cerebral Protection System. The ProtEmbo System is currently undergoing clinical investigations.