Claret Medical said today that it secured up to $18 million in Series B financing it plans to use to make progress toward the U.S. market.
Claret said the new cash will help complete a U.S. pivotal trial of the Sentinel cerebral protection device, which filters potentially dangerous blood clots that may dislodge during valve replacement procedures. The device won investigational device exemption in February after winning CE Mark approval in the European Union a month earlier.
Funding was led by Santé Ventures with participation from Lightstone Ventures and each of the VC firms added a member to Claret’s board of directors, according to a press release. Easton Capital also participated in the round, according to the release.
Claret touts the Sentinel system as the only device of its kind that both captures and removes blood clots and other tissue released during transcatheter aortic valve implantation surgeries, preventing the debris from traveling to the brain where it can lodge in blood vessels and cause a stroke.
"Many consider the stroke rate in TAVR concerning, especially as clinicians look to bring the benefits of TAVR to lower risk and younger patients," president & CEO Azin Parhizgar said in prepared remarks. "The proceeds of this financing round will enable Claret Medical to conduct the Sentinel pivotal trial, which we expect to confirm the therapeutic importance of embolic debris capture and removal during TAVR."
