The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a venture debt facility totalling EUR 20 million to the Aachen-based medical technology start-up Protembis GmbH (“Protembis”), developer of the “ProtEmbo” filter system for catheter-guided aortic valve implantation. The venture debt financing, which is funded by the European Union’s “InvestEU” programme, will be used to finalise clinical studies and support market access for the cerebral embolism protection system, among other things.
Protembis is developing the “ProtEmbo Cerebral Protection System”, or “ProtEmbo” for short, which protects the brain from embolisms during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVR). This system filters the particles released in the aorta during the procedure and thus prevents possible damage to the cerebral vessels. The filter system is inserted via the left radial artery so that the instruments required for implantation, which are normally inserted via the femoral artery, can be used without interference.
In particular, the agreement with the EIB provides for the completion of the PROTEMBO pivotal trial (NCT05873816), which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of last year. Just recently, Protembis successfully closed a EUR 30 million Series B financing round, which was also advised by Taylor Wessing.
The EIB sees the cerebral embolism protection system “ProtEmbo” as a next-generation technology. The demand for this technology is high: it is estimated that 430,000 patients worldwide will have to undergo TAVR by 2025. With the venture debt now agreed with Protembis, the European Union institution is fulfilling its objective of supporting technological developments from EU member states through long-term financing. This funding is supported by the InvestEU programme, with which the European Union aims to initiate additional investments in new technologies totalling around 372 billion euros by 2027.
Legal advisors Protembis GmbH
Taylor Wessing Germany: Dr Niclas von Woedtke (Salary Partner, Hamburg), Felipe Villena (Salary Partner, Frankfurt) both M&A/Venture Capital; Jennifer Maiworm (Salary Partner), Dr Jens Wiesner (Partner), Dennis Hoppermann (Associate) all Banking/Finance, all Hamburg
