Medical device company Nephera Ltd. has raised $2.85 million in its second financing round. The investors were Trendlines International Ltd. through Misgav Venture Accelerator, together with Evergreen Venture Partners and Aurum Ventures MKI Ltd., the venture capital arm of Morris Kahn.
Nephera, founded in 2008, is developing a device to treat patients with congestive heart failure. The device aims at improving and maintaining kidney function during these patients' frequent hospitalizations by electrical stimulation of the bladder. Currently, there are no means to prevent deterioration of kidney function during hospitalization, resulting in a general decline in patients' condition.
Nephera, run by CEO Gill Bar-Yoseph, recently successfully completed preclinical trials. The company expects to begin human clinical trials soon. The current round is intended to finance these trials.
Congestive heart failure is a leading medical problem in industrialized countries. In the US alone, more than one million people are hospitalized every year with congestive heart failure, making it the number one cause of hospitalization of adults in the country. The prevalence of the disease has been increasing over the years, partly because of improved medical treatment, which has extended life expectancy.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 11, 2010
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