Aortyx, the Barcelona-based medtech scaleup and CATALONIA.HEALTH members, has raised 13.8M EUR Series A funding round led by Ship2B Ventures. The funding will be used to reach the milestone of first-in-human readiness, bringing their product – a bioresorbable patch that treats aortic tears – closer to market.

The Aortyx team develops a minimally invasive solution to what is called aortic dissection – essentially a tear in the aortic wall. To do so, they have developed a steerable catheter that snakes through the aorta, and shoots out a circular patch that plugs the tear. They have also developed the patch, which is made out of a biodegradable material that also serves as scaffolding to encourage new tissue regrowth.

More than 50,000 Europeans suffer from aortic dissections per year, and Aortyx aims at treating at least half of those with their first generation product. All alternative strategies incur high short-, mid-, and long-term mortality and morbidity rates that Aortyx aims at diminishing with their minimally invasive approach. The funding round’s goal is to reach first-in-human readiness within two years; the key users of this technology will be vascular and cardiothoracic surgeons.

“Aortic  dissections kill more people than car crashes. What we hope to provide is an  option that is effective, long-lasting, and respectful with the aorta to treat  aortic dissection and other aortic diseases.” – Jordi Martorell, co-founder and CEO of Aortyx

The round is led by Ship2B Ventures, through BSocial Impact Fund (supported by Banco Sabadell, the EIF, and AXIS), and Clave Capital, through Clave Innohealth (supported by CDTI-Innvierte). They are joined by Nara Capital, the EIC fund, the CDTI, through its SICC Innvierte, angel investors, and a key corporate player in the aortic space – one of the top five aortic device manufacturers in the world.

“We are  backing Aortyx as it potentially represents a revolution in cardiovascular  medicine. They are developing a solution that is not only disruptive and  technically brilliant, but driven by a clear social purpose: to save lives  where today there are barely any options. Led by an exceptional team and a bold  vision, they have the potential to forever change how we treat aortic  dissections.” - Jordi Ferrer, Investment Director at Ship2B Ventures, also CATALONIA.HEALTH members.

The IP lies in the catheter, deploying hardware, as well as the patch. The bioresorbable patch is manufactured using the electrospinning technique. This is the same concept used by spiders when they create their webs, and allows for creating a controlled, viscoelastic, and biocompatible material.