Vascular Architects, Inc. Completes $16 Million Equity Financing; Two New Investors Are Added.Business/Health Editors SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2003 Vascular Architects, Inc., an innovator of devices to treat vascular disease and nonvascular obstructions, announced today that the company has closed a $16 million private placement of its Series D Preferred stock. Foundation Medical Partners led the round of financing, and was joined by Edwards Lifesciences LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control as new investors. Existing investors including Domain Associates, Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D., ARCH Venture Partners, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, The Vertical Group, Atherton Venture Partners and Three Arch Partners also participated. "We are pleased to close such a significant round of financing, especially in light of current market conditions," said Bruce Barclay, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "The confidence our investors have placed in Vascular Architects and our technology follows the enthusiastic acceptance of the Vascular Architects aSpire(R) Covered Stent and Controlled Expansion(TM) Delivery System by our customers. This financing will allow us to expand the distribution channels for our products in the U.S. and internationally. We will also continue to enroll patients in our two FDA-approved clinical trials in the U.S., which evaluate use of the aSpire Covered Stent to treat iliac (GALAXY) and superficial femoral artery (SFA See sales force automation. SFA - Sales Force Automation ) and popliteal artery (VALIANT) stenoses and occlusions. Finally, future product and drug delivery stent development activities will be accelerated." Barclay pointed out that the funds will also be used for other general corporate purposes. Vascular Architects recently announced exceptional patency pa·ten·cy n. The state or quality of being open, expanded, or unblocked. patency the condition of being open. rates in clinical studies at one year in patients treated with the aSpire Covered Stent for stenoses and long occlusions of the SFA and iliac arteries. The aSpire Covered Stent is a spiral nitinol design completely covered by a thin layer of ePTFE, which is intended to provide greater artery wall coverage and eliminate all metal-to-artery contact. This stent is designed to preserve many of the native artery's desired elements, including the ability to maintain laminar laminar /lam·i·nar/ (lam´i-nar) 1. pertaining to a lamina or laminae. 2. laminated. 3. of, pertaining to, or being a streamlined, smooth fluid flow. blood flow and side branch access. Further, since the aSpire Covered Stent has been designed specifically for use in difficult to treat anatomy like the SFA where compressive com·pres·sive adj. Serving to or able to compress. com·pres  sive·ly adv. forces and torsional tor·sion n. 1. a. The act of twisting or turning. b. The condition of being twisted or turned. 2. stresses exist, it may also address the recently identified problems of stent fracture seen with other devices. The aSpire Covered Stent is delivered using Vascular Architects' proprietary Controlled Expansion delivery system, the first stent delivery system which separates the steps of complete stent apposition apposition /ap·po·si·tion/ (ap?o-zish´un) juxtaposition; the placing of things in proximity; specifically, the deposition of successive layers upon those already present, as in cell walls. to the artery wall from release of the stent from the delivery catheter. In connection with the private placement, Dr. Lee Wrubel, Managing General Partner of Foundation Medical Partners, and Mr. Stuart Foster, Corporate Vice President, Technology and Discovery for Edwards Lifesciences, have been elected to the Vascular Architects Board of Directors, bringing Board membership to seven. Dr. Wrubel is a founder of Foundation Medical Partners. Prior to founding Foundation, Dr. Wrubel was with Highland Capital Partners Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices located in Boston, Silicon Valley, Geneva, and Shanghai. Since its inception in 1988, the firm has invested in more than 180 early and growth stage companies and taken a sector-focused approach to investing in and Canaan Partners. Mr. Foster joined the Cardiovascular Group of Baxter in 1994 as president of the vascular business. Before that, he was president of Intramed Laboratories prior to its acquisition by Baxter, and co-founder of SensorMedics. About Foundation Medical Partners Foundation Medical Partners is a venture capital investment fund sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic. The Fund is a traditional venture fund in structure and is focused solely on investments in healthcare that demonstrate the capability to improve the practice of medicine and human health. In addition to the Cleveland Clinic, investors in Foundation Medical Partners include Battelle Memorial Institute The Battelle Memorial Institute is a private not-for-profit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The institute opened in 1929 but traces its origins to the 1923 will of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle which provided for its , Edwards Lifesciences, and other major corporations, pension funds, financial institutions, and private investors. About Edwards Lifesciences Edwards Lifesciences, a leader in advanced cardiovascular disease treatments, is the number-one heart valve company in the world, and the global leader in acute hemodynamic monitoring. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Edwards focuses on four main cardiovascular disease states: heart valve disease, coronary artery disease coronary artery disease, condition that results when the coronary arteries are narrowed or occluded, most commonly by atherosclerotic deposits of fibrous and fatty tissue. , peripheral vascular disease Peripheral Vascular Disease Definition Peripheral vascular disease is a narrowing of blood vessels that restricts blood flow. It mostly occurs in the legs, but is sometimes seen in the arms. and congestive heart failure congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time. . The company's global brands, which are sold in over 80 countries, include Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, Swan-Ganz, Lifepath AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. and Fogarty. (www.edwards.com.) About Domain Associates With offices in Princeton, NJ, and Laguna Niguel, CA, Domain Associates is a venture capital management company that provides financing and organizational support to technology-based companies focused on life sciences. Total funds under management exceed $900 million, and Domain invests approximately $100 million per year in this sector. Domain believes that it is important to actively support companies in all stages of their development. On one extreme, Domain maintains a vibrant new company formation program that funds and assists start-ups at the earliest stages of their life cycle. On the other end of the spectrum, Domain also provides development capital to publicly traded companies both on an active (Board seat) and passive basis. Specific areas of investment interest include biopharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, medical devices, drug discovery services, bio-instrumentation, diagnostics, and new materials as applied to healthcare. With demonstrated expertise in technology assessment, strategic planning, operations, and finance, Domain's partners have been involved in the creation and development of well over 100 life sciences ventures. Today, these companies generate total annual revenues of greater than $5 billion, employ more than 20,000 people, and have a combined market capitalization exceeding $100 billion. (www.domainvc.com.) About ARCH Venture Partners ARCH Venture Partners invests primarily in companies co-founded with leading scientists and entrepreneurs, concentrating on bringing to market innovations in information technology, life sciences, and physical sciences. We enjoy special recognition as a leader in the successful commercialization of technologies developed at academic research institutions and national laboratories. ARCH currently manages five funds totaling over $700 million and has invested in the earliest venture capital rounds for more than 90 companies. ARCH investors include major corporations, pension funds, endowment funds, financial institutions, and private investors. The partnership is led by six managing directors and a team of partners, venture partners, associates, and technology specialists. (www.archventure.com). About Three Arch Partners Three Arch Partners was formed in 1993 to provide young companies with access to relevant clinical and business resources, as well as capital, investing exclusively in healthcare. The partnership manages four funds with over $600 million in capital. (www.threearchpartners.com) About Johnson and Johnson Development Corporation Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Johnson & Johnson. About The Vertical Group The Vertical Group is a venture capital firm specializing in the medical device and instrumentation industry. The successor to the venture capital division of F. Eberstadt & Co., The Vertical Group has been an independent firm since 1988. For more than twenty years, The Vertical Group's principals have been founders, early stage investors, major shareholders, and executives of many of the medical technology industry's most successful companies. The Vertical Group currently manages several private partnerships with a "vertical" range of medical device and instrumentation investments including: early and late venture stage companies, private companies acquired in leveraged buyout or corporate spin-off transactions, and public companies of all sizes. (www.vertical-group.com) About Atherton Venture Partners Atherton Venture Partners invests in healthcare, life science and information technology companies. It is funded by the private medical community and has affiliations with major universities and medical research centers located in the West and Southwest, such as Stanford, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , UCSF UCSF University of California at San Francisco , Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine is a private medical school located in Houston, Texas, USA on the grounds of the Texas Medical Center. It has been consistently rated the top medical school in Texas and among the best in the United States. and the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. By leveraging its network of experts in the medical community, Atherton Ventures brings an extensive range of clinical, academic and regulatory experience to its portfolio companies. (www.athertonventures.com) Vascular Architects develops, manufactures and markets devices for treating peripheral vascular disease and nonvascular obstructions. The aSpire Covered Stent and Controlled Expansion Delivery System has been cleared for sale in the U.S. for the treatment of tracheobronchial tracheobronchial /tra·cheo·bron·chi·al/ (-brong´ke-al) pertaining to the trachea and bronchi. tra·che·o·bron·chi·al adj. Of or relating to the trachea and the bronchi. strictures, and has received a CE Mark in Europe for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease. The company also markets the MollRing Cutter in the U.S. and Europe for the minimally invasive treatment of iliac and SFA occlusive occlusive /oc·clu·sive/ (o-kloo´siv) pertaining to or causing occlusion. oc·clu·sive adj. 1. Occluding or tending to occlude. 2. disease by a procedure known as remote endarterectomy Endarterectomy Definition Endarterectomy is an operation to remove or bypass the fatty deposits, or blockage, in an artery narrowed by the buildup of fatty tissue (atherosclerosis). . For further information contact Bruce Barclay at 408-392-7401 or visit our website at www.vasculararchitects.com. |
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