Holistick Medical raises 3.9 M€ from Truffle Capital to advance preclinical development of PFO closure device

Paris, April 08th , 2021

Holistick Medical, a preclinical stage startup, aimed at radically transforming heart defect repair, announced today to have raised 3.9M€ funding from Truffle Capital and an additional 400K€ of non-dilutive funding from BPI.

This capital increase will support the continuation of preclinical activities towards clinical readiness of the company’s innovative R&D program.

“Truffle Capital is thrilled to provide funding for Holistick Medical to advance the project towards clinical studies, to ultimately bring this new technology to patients to improve their lives and reduce healthcare system costs”, said Truffle Capital’s co-founder & CEO Philippe Pouletty.

Holistick Medical is developing a paradigm-shifting medical device for PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) closure, that can prevent the recurrence of stroke in certain patients. Stroke is now the second leading cause of death in the world and a patient who has already had a stroke has up to a 50% risk of recurrence at 5 years.

The foramen ovale is a necessary passage between the two atria of the heart during fetal life, which closes, in most cases, during the first year of life. PFO is a failure to close this passage, which is found in 25-30% of the worldwide adult population. While in most cases the existence of this failure to close has no impact on an individual's health, a link has been observed between the presence of PFO and the occurrence of some strokes, particularly in younger patients. Several recent clinical studies have shown that closing this passage in those patients leads to a significant reduction of stroke recurrence.

Holistick Medical is developing a new device for percutaneous closure of the PFO. In contrast to existing products on the market, Holistick Medical's device, unique in the world, is nonmetallic and consists of an adhesive and flexible textile that only attaches to the right side of the heart, allowing an atraumatic PFO closure that is more respectful of cardiac physiology. Moreover, this procedure allows the septum to be re-crossed during future interventions. Thanks to the presence and expertise of interventional cardiologists and neurologists on its Medical Advisory Board, the company aims to develop an innovative procedure that meets the needs of healthcare professionals in the field.

“This robust financing provides us with the resources necessary to catapult our strategy forward. It will enable us to carry out our preclinical studies, a necessary step for an initial study in humans in the near future, so that we can then reinvent the treatment for heart defects.”, said Boris Warnack, CEO of Holistick Medical. “We are developing our product with the goal of reducing the impact of stroke by revolutionizing the closure of PFOs for both patients and physicians.”

These studies will need to show the long-term safety of the device, as well as its effectiveness in closing PFO-type heart defects.

The 400K€ of funding from the BPI was received as part of the “Innov'Up Leader PIA” call for tenders, a local implementation in the Île-de-France region of the “Programme d'Investissements d'Avenir” (PIA). The "Innovation Projects" initiative aims to support ambitious projects linked to the region's innovation priorities.

About Holistick Medical

Founded in 2017 by Truffle Capital, Holistick Medical is developing a minimally invasive medical device to close the patent foramen ovale, an abnormal communication between the right and left heart that can lead to serious strokes. Unlike currently available metallic devices, Holistick Medical offers a physiological and respectful approach to cardiac anatomy, based on an adhesive, flexible, lightactivated and biocompatible patch technology initially developed and patented jointly by Harvard, MIT, Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Find out more: www.holistick-medical.com

About Truffle Capital

Founded in 2001, Truffle Capital is an independent European Venture Capital firm focused on radical innovations in Life Sciences (MedTech and BioTech) and breakthrough technologies in the IT sector (FinTech and InsurTech). Truffle Capital's mission is to support the founding and development of young innovative companies capable of becoming tomorrow’s leaders. Chaired by Patrick Kron and managed by Dr. Philippe Pouletty and Bernard-Louis Roques, Co-Founders and Chief Executive Officers, Truffle Capital has raised more than €1.1 billion since its creation and has supported several dozens of companies in the life sciences and digital technology sectors. In 2019, Truffle Capital announced the raising of nearly €400 million for its early-stage institutional funds, including €250 million dedicated to BioMedTech.

Find out more : www.truffle.com — Twitter : @trufflecapital