Xtent, Inc. Announces $25 Million C Round Financing
Mar 3, 2005 - Menlo Park, CA. March 3rd. Xtent, Inc., a developer of stent systems for delivering multiple drug eluting stents of customizable length with a single catheter, announced today that it has closed a $25 million round of financing. The funding comes entirely from previous investors at a valuation of more than twice that of the previous financing round closed in 2003.
"We view this more than 2X step-up in valuation by the investors who know us best as a strong vote of confidence in Xtent's progress," says Gregory Casciaro, Xtent President and CEO. "All our clinical and pre-clinical results so far indicate that Xtent is on its way to providing interventional cardiologists with tools that will greatly enhance their ability to treat much more complex coronary disease."
"Drug eluting stents (DES) are transforming cardiology," says Robin Bellas, general partner at Morgenthaler Ventures, the lead venture capital investor in Xtent. "But we have always believed that the current generation of stents was just scratching the surface of potential treatment. Xtent is showing where the next generation of technology will lead." Other investors in the latest round include Advanced Technology Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners and Split Rock Partners, co-manager of St. Paul Venture Capital.
Today, DES devices are comprised of fixed-length stents crimped on fixed- length, single-use balloons. These stents are ideally suited for the treatment of discreet, single coronary blockages. However, the clinical success of DES devices has increasingly led doctors to use stents to treat patients having multiple blockages, often in multiple blood vessels, which in the past would have been referred for coronary bypass surgery. Such surgery is more painful, requires longer hospital stays and recovery time, and is substantially more costly than the less invasive approach of stenting. Attempting to treat such complex cases with currently available DES devices is technically challenging for the clinician and often economically unfavorable for the hospital.
Xtent's novel DES system is designed to allow cardiologists to treat the largest, fastest growing portion of the market - long, diffuse lesions, multiple lesions and multiple vessel disease - with a single device which minimizes catheter exchanges. The Xtent System precisely customizes stent length for each lesion treated. The system is designed to allow the cardiologist to treat complex lesions rapidly, efficiently and with a high degree of accuracy, which provides significant benefits for the patient, physician and the hospital.
Industry analysts estimate that the drug eluting stent market will grow to over $6 billion by 2008. The proportion of procedures requiring more than one stent is currently 40% and growing rapidly. By 2008, the market size for complex disease treatment may exceed $4 billion.
About Xtent.
Xtent is a privately-held developer of drug-eluting stent systems for the treatment of complex, multi-vessel, multi-lesion coronary and peripheral vascular disease.
About Morgenthaler Ventures
Founded in 1968, Morgenthaler is a leading, national venture-capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, CA (headquarters); Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Boulder, CO; and Princeton, NJ; and with an investment focus on life sciences and information technology. Morgenthaler's medical device investments, past and present, include such industry-leading companies as CardioThoracic Systems, Emphasys, The Foundry, Perclose, Satiety, and Thermage. Morgenthaler has a total of $2 billion under management. Its most recent fund, capitalized at $850 million, was raised in July of 2001. The firm (www.morgenthaler.com) has funded more than 200 companies over its 37-year history.
About Advanced Technology Ventures
Founded in 1979, Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) is a bi-coastal venture capital firm with more than $1.5 billion in capital under management. We work closely with entrepreneurial teams in several technology markets, including communications, IT infrastructure, software and services, and healthcare technologies, to build emerging-growth business ventures into market leaders. With more than 25 years of experience, ATV has a proven track record of success in helping to build strong, sustainable business enterprises. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.atvcapital.com.
About Latterell Venture Partners
Latterell Ventures is a specialized venture capital firm focused on creating and investing in new medical device and biopharmaceutical startups. Its five partners have more than 100 years of combined experience in the field and played significant roles assisting in the growth and success of dozens of innovative new biomedical companies, including CardioThoracic Systems, Centocor, CVIS, EP Technologies, Genentech, Geron, Integrated Vascular Systems, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Oratec Interventions, PerSeptive Biosystems, Pharmacyclics, Signal Pharmaceuticals, and Vical, among others. Additional information is available on its website at www.LVPcapital.com.
About Split Rock Partners
Split Rock Partners, with offices in Minneapolis and Menlo Park, seeks emerging opportunities in healthcare, software, and Internet services primarily in the Upper Midwest and West Coast. Split Rock Partners was formed in June 2004 by the healthcare and software investment teams of St. Paul Venture Capital and continues to manage St. Paul Venture Capital's existing healthcare and software portfolio. Since its inception in 1988, St. Paul Venture Capital has consistently been an active early-stage venture capital investor, directly investing over $1.3 billion in a diversified portfolio of companies across six venture capital funds. Split Rock's portfolio of healthcare investments includes such industry leaders as Spine-Tech, The Foundry, Santarus, DexCom, Emphasys Medical, and Disc Dynamics. Additional information about the firm can be found at www.splitrockpartners.com.
Company Contact: Brian Walsh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Phone: 650-475-9400, ext. 430
E-mail: bwalsh@xtentinc.com
Media Contact: Tom Gibson
Phone: 216-881-9376
E-mail: tgibson1@ameritech.net