With publicly disclosed investments of $250,000 from a Cleveland economic development group and $400,000 from an Illinois angel group, rudimentary mathematics tell us heart monitoring startup Endotronix Inc. has raised at least $650,000.
The company’s latest funding round went above that amount, but Endotronix isn’t saying by how much. For competitive reasons, co-founder Harry Rowland is keeping details of the company close to his vest, declining to provide the full amount of the company’s latest funding.
But Rowland did reveal a few facts about Endotronix, which is developing a wireless, implantable heart monitor that would alert doctors about blood pressure changes in heart failure patients, during a phone interview with MedCity News. (Rowland was unavailable for comment Oct. 12, when the funding was announced).
Vice president of engineering and the company’s only full-time employee, Rowland said it’d likely be “a couple years” before the device hits the market, due in part to regulatory uncertainty. It’s too early to tell whether the company will seek 510(k) clearance from the Food & Drug Administration or the more stringent pre-market approval process. The company no doubt would prefer the quicker, cheaper 510(k) route.
The device has been tested in animals but has not yet entered human clinical trials, Rowland said.
Based in East Peoria, Ill., Endotronix has another office in Richmond Height, a suburb of Cleveland. Rowland characterized the Cleveland office as its headquarters for corporate meetings and strategic planning, whereas most product development and prototyping happens in East Peoria.
In addition to the investment from Cleveland economic development group JumpStart, Endotronix has strong ties to northeast Ohio. The company is conducting animal tests of its device at Cleveland Clinic, has licensed its technology from Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center and has previously received a grant from the Lorain County Community College Foundation Innovation Fund.
