Alesi Surgical raises €6m (£5.2m) to accelerate commercialisation of breakthrough product UltravisionTM Cardiff, Wales, 31 May 2017

Alesi Surgical raises €6m (£5.2m) to accelerate commercialisation of breakthrough product UltravisionTM

Alesi Surgical Limited, the leading innovator of minimally invasive surgery technologies – including the world-first Ultravision device - has successfully raised a further €6m (£5.2m) funding from both new and existing investors.

The new investment comes from two leading med tech European venture capital firms, Panakes Partners and Earlybird, with continued support from Alesi Surgical’s existing shareholders, IP Group plc and Finance Wales Limited.

The funds raised will be used to drive commercial expansion of both Alesi Surgical and Ultravision into the United States and other key markets worldwide, and to undertake additional research and development around the new Ultravision technology.

Alesi Surgical also announces the appointment of three new directors, strengthening its board with key expertise to take the company and its products forward. Joining as non-executive director Phil Cooper previously President at Molnlycke Healthcare, is a recognised leader in global commercialisation and growth of privately owned companies in the med tech sector.

As part of the investment Mr Thom Rasche, Partner at Earlybird and previously Vice President Europe of Ethicon Endosurgery; and Mr Alessio Beverina, Founding Partner at Panakes Partners, will both join the board as investor directors.

Dr Dominic Griffiths, Managing Director of Alesi Surgical said: “Earlybird and Panakes are two highly respected European venture capital companies and in such a competitive funding environment their interest in Alesi and UltravisionTM speaks volumes for our potential. With the three new additions to the board we have expanded our expertise in this market and having four corporate investors places us in a strong position for future growth.”

The funds have been raised following the recent approval of the company’s leading proprietary technology platform, UltravisionTM, by both the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and Japanese Ministry of Health, and the commercial traction it is already gaining in already approved markets in Europe and the Middle East.

The UltravisionTM system is the world’s first use of electrostatic technology to clear the vapour and particulate matter – so called “surgical smoke” – that is generated by modern surgical cutting instruments during abdominal keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery.

The revolutionary medical device produces a low-energy electrostatic charge and can greatly improve visibility for surgeons by actively eliminating surgical smoke as it is created by the cutting instrument. Minimising healthcare professionals’ exposure to surgical smoke is increasingly important worldwide because of concerns over the health risks of long-term exposure.

The technology also benefits the patient as it minimises the amount of cold, dry carbon dioxide gas – used to create a working space inside the abdomen – that a patient is exposed to during the keyhole procedure. Excessive use of carbon dioxide contributes to cardiovascular problems, complications in anesthesia, post-surgical pain and longer recovery time for the patient.

Thom Rasche, Partner of Earlybird, said: “Obscuring of the surgical view during the laparoscopic procedure is not only cumbersome to surgeons but adds an additional risk to the safety of the procedure and to the staff being exposed to the smoke. Alesi has developed a fabulous, simple and very effective solution to help address these risks.”

Alessio Beverina said: “I am delighted to support the Alesi development. Its unique patented technology is a smart and simple solution for a real problem for laparoscopic surgeons and nurses in the operating room, both in standard and robotic operations. Whilst Alesi’s Research and Development product pipeline promises to be a game changer in the sector.”

Ends




Notes to editors:

For more information, contact James Barton at 2B Communications on 07955 227046 or james@2bcommunications.co.uk



1. Alesi Surgical develops and commercialises products that improve the safety, efficiency and outcomes of advanced surgical procedures.

2. The company was founded in 2009 as a spin-out from the Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT), with the vision of becoming a world leader in surgical devices. Part of Cardiff University, WIMAT runs multi-disciplinary training courses across a range of surgical and medical specialties and is the busiest multi-disciplinary training centre in the United Kingdom.

3. For more information, visit www.alesi-surgical.com

4. Alesi Surgical is based at Cardiff Medicentre, the dedicated medical, healthcare, and life sciences business incubator located on the University Hospital of Wales campus. The latter is also home to Cardiff University's School of Medicine. Cardiff University is Wales’s leading Higher Education Institution for innovation, ranked 7th in the UK and 45th in Europe for innovation by Thomson Reuters.

5. Finance Wales was established by the Welsh Government in 2001 and provides commercial funding to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Wales to enable them to realise their potential for innovation and growth. The company is part of the Finance Wales Group and in 2015-16 the Group invested £63 million through 268 debt-equity investments in growing businesses. The Finance Wales Group, one of the UK’s largest SME investors, has in excess of £990 million of funds under management across all SME investment fund and the Help to Buy – Wales scheme. The Group has invested more than £484 million through more than 4,018 investments.

6. IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiary IP Capital), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in approximately 100 early-stage to mature businesses across four main sectors -- Biotech, Cleantech, Healthcare and Technology. The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com .

7. About Panakes Partners

Panakès Partners is a Venture Capital investor that finances medical companies, early stage startup and SMEs, with extremely promising products and great ambition, in Europe and Israel, improving both patient outcomes and healthcare economics. Investments focus on the medical device, diagnostics and healthcare IT fields. Panakès Partners is headquartered in Milan, Italy. www.panakes.it .

8. About Earlybird

Earlybird is a venture capital investor focused on European technology companies. Founded in 1997, Earlybird invests in all growth and development phases of a company. Amongst the most experienced venture investors in Europe, Earlybird offers its portfolio companies not only financial resources, but also strategic and operational support as well as access to an international network and capital markets. With over EUR 850 million under management, six IPOs and 22 trade sales, Earlybird is one of the most successful venture capital firms in Europe.

For further information: www.earlybird.com,
Twitter: www.twitter.com/EarlybirdVC,
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/earlybird-venture-capital
or Facebook: www.facebook.com/EarlybirdVC