Israeli ultrasound company Vensica Medical has raised $2 million from US medical device company Cogentix Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: CGNT). Cogentix will receive one seat on the Vensica board and options to acquire the entire company for an additional $8 million.
Based in the Trendlines Group incubator in Misgav in the Western Galilee, Vensica is a privately-held company developing VensiCare, an ultrasound based, needle-free drug delivery system. The initial indication pursued for the VensiCare device will be the delivery of botulinum toxin (such as Botox or Dysport) to treat overactive bladder (OAB). Vensica, which was founded in 2014, also has intellectual property for the delivery of oncology agents to the bladder. Vensica plans human clinical trials of VensiCare for OAB during the fourth quarter of 2018.
Vensica founder and CEO Avner Geva said, "We believe that Cogentix is the most attractive partner for Vensica given their knowledge of the OAB market and their successful track record with Urgent PC. We are confident this partnership will result in maximizing the potential of VensiCare."
Cogentix president and CEO Darin Hammers said, "We are very excited about the potential the VensiCare product may provide for the more than 42 million patients in the US suffering from overactive bladder and its symptoms. The ability to offer another minimally invasive treatment option and significantly increase the number of patients who receive a 3rd line therapy for OAB is truly an exciting opportunity to leverage our strong urology market presence. Our physician customers often use Botox for the treatment of overactive bladder, and we believe Vensica's approach and product pathway currently show promise for revolutionizing the manner in which botulinum toxin is administered for OAB."
He added, "The structure of this investment allows Cogentix to oversee the development of the high potential VensiCare device for a modest initial investment. Further, the agreement gives the Company the option to acquire all of Vensica at a fixed price if significant value creating milestones are achieved. And while the initial work of Vensica focuses on the delivery of botulinum toxin to treat OAB, we believe the VensiCare product has the potential to be a broad based drug delivery platform that could deliver a variety of drugs for other indications, such as cancer."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 29, 2017
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