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CEO of STENTiT, Bart Sanders | Image credit: STENTiT

Eindhoven-based STENTiT, a medical device company developing a novel class of regenerative endovascular implants to treat cardiovascular diseases, announced on Monday that it has closed €1.8M in its Seed round of funding. The company says that the raised capital will facilitate further pre-clinical development and batch production of a regenerative stent for peripheral indications.

Investors in this round

The investment came from Dutch investors NextGen Ventures, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), and the Ten Cate Investment Company.

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Nextgen Ventures is an investment fund that backs knowledge-intensive companies that enable transformation in health care. The firm says, “We actively work with our portfolio companies to develop and market potential breakthrough innovations in health care IT and medical technology that provide meaningful results for people, patients, and professionals.”

The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) ensures that startups playing a role in sustainable food sources, climate-neutral energy, and developing key technologies, receive the ‘right support and funding for a flying start’. Every year, the firm works with dozens of companies to create this impact. BOM is an executive body of the Province of Brabant and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

Restoring arteries with regenerative stents

Founded in 2017 by Bart Sanders, STENTiT is a medical device spin-off company of the Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology, focusing on the development of regenerative endovascular implants.

The company claims to be an emerging player in the field of regenerative medical devices, offering a breakthrough solution for cardiovascular interventions by developing first-of-its-kind endovascular implants with regenerative capacity. 

Using a catheter-based approach, these devices provide the ability to restore arteries without the need for invasive surgical intervention. The aim is to ultimately restore the affected blood vessel from the inside out to provide a lifelong solution.

As a first target indication, the company wants to improve the treatment of critical limb ischemia, in which the blood flow to the foot is severely compromised. This progressive form of peripheral artery disease affects almost 5 million people in the EU and the US. Currently, treatment options are ineffective, resulting in amputation within 6 months in 40 per cent of patients.

The company says that with the regenerative stent, blood flow to the foot will be maintained by securing vascular patency using temporary mechanical support and improving long-term efficacy by inducing vascular repair, thereby preventing thousands of amputations each year.

Bart Sanders says, “We are excited to receive the support of these esteemed Dutch early-stage investors. This financing round validates our vision to bring a novel class of implants that can rebuild the affected blood vessels. We are looking forward to taking the next steps to get our regenerative stents ready for clinical trials. With our first product, we aim to treat millions of patients suffering from peripheral artery diseases and save their limbs from amputation.”