Israeli cartilage and bone regeneration device developer CartiHeal (2009) Ltd. has closed a $15 million financing round. The investment was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc. together with CartiHeal's existing investors: Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (TASE: ELRN), Accelmed, Access Medical Ventures and Peregrine Ventures.
The funds will be used to promote ongoing manufacturing scale-up, plans for initial European commercialization in 2017 and expansion of clinical studies to new therapeutic areas.
CartiHeal's cell free and off-the shelf implant Agili-C has been successfully implanted in nearly 200 patients throughout Europe and obtained CE approval. Agili-C is indicated for the treatment of cartilage and osteochondral defects in degenerative and non-degenerative lesions.
Accelmed managing partner and CartiHeal board member Uri Geiger said, "This round of funding is a testament to the investor's commitment and satisfaction with CartiHeal's progress, and its revolutionary paradigm change in the treatment of cartilage and osteoarthritis."
CartiHeal founder & CEO Nir Altschuler said, "The Agili-C implant has demonstrated outstanding ability to reproducibly regenerate hyaline cartilage. Agili-C enables biological resurfacing of cartilage and its underlying subchondral bone through a tissue regeneration process. The device is suitable for a wide range of pathologies from focal traumatic lesions to moderate stages of osteoarthritis. We believe that it will provide a good solution for a vast unmet need, especially for patients with osteoarthritis who do not respond to conservative treatment while their condition is not severe enough to justify full joint replacement. This investment will position CartiHeal as a significant player in the treatment of early osteoarthritis."
Altschuler, a biomedical engineer, founded the company in 2009, on the basis of a concept discovered at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2016
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