Press release, June 10, 2008
Seed-Fonds Aachen and The BioScience Ventures Group invest in MaRVis Technologies GmbH
Seed capital for the development of MRI compatible and visible medical devices
Aachen, Juni 10, 2008 – The „ Seed-Fonds for the Region Aachen GmbH & Co. KG“ (Seed-Fonds Aachen, Germany) with MaRVis Technologies GmbH has closed its second investment. In total Euro 750,000 are being invested in the young medical device company having its registered seat in Aachen. This money is provided in equal parts by the Seed-Fonds and the co-investor The BioScience Ventures Group AG (Munich, Germany). The company was founded in January 2008 by Dr. Klaus Düring and Mr. Jochim Pfeffer.
Safety and quality by MRI compatible devices
MaRVis is developing a technology platform for medical devices such as guidewires and catheters which are visible in and compatible with the magnetic field in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The material of the instruments is novel, allowing easy visualization during interventional treatments guided by MRI instead of by X-ray as usually done today. Current guidewires and catheters contain long metallic cores or braids and thereby function as electric conductors in the magnetic field. Thus, they are dangerous for patients and doctors and therefore cannot be used in MRI. Dr. Klaus Düring, CEO of MaRVis, explains: „With our platform technology for development and production of the devices for the first time we can maintain the positive material characteristics of the current metallic devices. At the same time we ensure high patient safety due to electrically non-conductive material. We embedd small isolated metal particles in the non-metallic material so that the devices can be made visible in MRI in a very directed manner.“
Future market in medical engineering
As a result MRI, being a well established method for diagnostic applications, will experience a breakthrough also for interventional applications due to its superior imaging quality for soft tissues (e.g. blood vessels, organs, brain). „In the future doctors will switch to MRI for a large part of the treatments“ expects Harald Heidemann, Managing Director of the management company of the Seed-Fonds Aachen. „MaRVis creates a key prerequisite for application of MRI-guided interventions. These are a viable alternative to X-ray guided treatments, avoid risks inherent to X-ray and provide a higher quality of images.“
Contact:
About Seed-Fonds Aachen
The „Seed-Fonds für die Region Aachen GmbH & Co. KG“ is one of six regional seed funds, which are realized by NRW.BANK and regional investment partners in North Rhine-Westphalia. The “Seed-Fonds Aachen” provides necessary capital to start-ups of the technology industry. The fund can invest 500.000 Euro maximum per company and round financing - with co-investors up to 1 Mio. Euro. Responsible for the operational leadership of the fund (FM Fonds-Management für die Region Aachen Beteiligungs-GmbH) are the investment experts of S-UBG AG. Since 20 years, the investment company of the savings banks of the region Aachen, Krefeld and Mönchengladbach invests in small- and medium-sized companies and start-ups of the technology sector.
www.seedfonds-aachen.de; www.s-ubg.de
About The BioScience Ventures Group
The BioScience Ventures Group (BSVG) invests in early stage biotechnology companies. Investment size is between € 0,2 and € 0,5 Mio per round. BSVG assists their portfolio companies in planning and supervising preclinical and clinical studies, especially in the field of biological drugs. Therefore BSVG succeeds in increasing the efficiency of its investments and to reduce development costs. In addition the team has broad and long experience within the investment business.
www.bsvg.com
About MaRVis Technologies GmbH
MaRVis Technologies GmbH is a medical device company having its registered seat in Aachen. Founded in 2008 it is developing a platform technology which allows visualization of medical devices in procedures based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This enables doctors to use new methods with high patient safety for diagnosis and treatment of e.g.cardiovascular, organ or neurological diseases.
www.marvistech.com
