By Thomas Lee
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minnesota– Vatrix Medical Inc. is seeking $2.2 million in early stage capital, according to documents filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company, which has so far raised $230,000 from the sale of equity and options/warrants, is developing technology to prevent and treat vascular aneurysms, a fatal disease that causes the walls of blood vessels to expand, weaken, and ultimately rupture.
Nancy Ness, a Vatrix executive and director, did not immediately return a phone call for comment. The company raised the cash in a pair of offerings, according to securities filings.
One, seeking to drum up $2 million in a sale of equity and options, pulled in $60,000; the second, seeking to raise $200,000, pulled in $170,000, according to the filings.
Not is much known about Vatrix, founded by Matthew Ogle with help from his father Raymond, a prolific medical device entrepreneur who also serves on the Vatrix board.
According to patent application filed last year with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Vatrix is developing a diagnostic kit that can predict the risk of aneurysms in a patient by analyzing the presence of genetic biomarkers in blood and urine such as desmosine, isodesmosine and metalloproteinase. These biomarkers are linked to the degradation of elastin and collagen, proteins that provide strength, support and flexibility to tissue found in blood vessels.
Vatrix was a bioscience finalist in the 2009 Minnesota Cup, the state’s annual competition for new companies. The company was also selected to present at an angel investors conference in Wisconsin last year.
