The new system is based on the groundbreaking discoveries of Prof. Eli Obsisher, a cardiologist and researcher at the University of Ben-Gurion and Dr. Ilya Playedroish, a scientist in the field of brain research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The biomedical start-up company Closed Loop Therapies (CLT), announced the establishment of a joint venture of the Israeli company with the Erasmus MC hospital located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands - one of the leading medical centers in Europe. The purpose of the new company - CLT BV - established in Rotterdam, is the development and commercialization of an innovative automatic treatment for atrial fibrillation. The treatment will be done using a pacemaker-like device, which will be implanted in patients and will automatically and in real time detect the fibrillation in the heart and immediately inject into the heart an innovative medicine that stops the fibrillation. The scope of the global market in which the company operates is currently estimated at approximately 3-4 billion dollars per year.
The new system is based on the groundbreaking discoveries of Prof. Eli Obsisher, a renowned cardiologist and researcher from Uni' Ben-Gurion and Dr. Ilya Playedroish, a scientist in the field of brain research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Atrial fibrillation (AF), in which the atrial muscles flutter instead of contracting normally, is the most common heart rhythm disorder. This phenomenon significantly increases the risk of having a stroke, harms the patients' quality of life, and involves significant expenses for the health system. The current treatment of the disease is through drugs that slow down the heart rate, or partially suppress the arrhythmia. In advanced situations, electric shock therapy is also used for the purpose of 'reversing' the rhythm and regulating it, or alternatively, invasive or surgical intervention to destroy the sources of the disorder in the heart tissue. In most cases, the effectiveness of the above treatments is limited.
According to Dr. Dan Galven, one of the founders of CLT and a director of the new company in the Netherlands, the choice of MC Erasmus as a business and professional partner will provide the venture with the necessary expertise, resources and funding to advance the development. "This is the first collaboration of its kind between an Israeli startup and a world-renowned Dutch medical center. Our pioneering step opens up a new opportunity and path for additional Israeli companies that are in the initial stages of medical/technological projects, which, due to their complexity, have difficulty obtaining the necessary budgets or infrastructure for their initial development in Israel. The new track created by CLT allows such companies to receive alternative scientific and financial support".
CLT BV is headed by Dr. Ivo Timmermans, who has many years of experience in management positions in the European pharmaceutical industry, including at Glaxo-Wellcome, BASF Pharma and Phico Therapeutics.
CLT's relationship with the center in Rotterdam began as a scientific collaboration with Prof. Luc Jordaens, Head of the Department of Electrophysiology at the Thorax Centrum (part of the Erasmus Medical Center). Prof. Jordaens is one of the leading experts in Europe in the field of cardiac arrhythmias. The establishment of the new company was initiated by Dr. Bina Baum, who has close ties to leading greenhouses and biotechnological development centers in Europe.
The Kurtz Marketing & Management company from Rotterdam, which helps promote cooperation between Israeli and Dutch companies, connected CLT and the Erasmus MC incubator, accompanied and promoted the negotiations all along the way in cooperation with Mr. Wim van Sluis, partner at Daamen & van Sluis and former Rotterdam Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, who provided strategic support and financial advice to the venture. The project is supported by the Dutch TechnoPartner, which is a governmental, inter-ministerial company whose aim is to promote new technological business initiatives in the Netherlands.
In Israel, CLT completed the trial phase in small animals in which the feasibility of the innovative treatment offered by the company was proven. This treatment, which is protected by a patent, is addressed to approximately 5.5 million patients in the world who suffer from the phenomenon (the incidence of which increases rapidly as the population matures).
CLT received a SEED investment in the amount of a quarter of a million euros in February 2009 (according to a valuation of one million three hundred thousand euros), and is currently in negotiations to raise further capital in the amount of 5 million euros.
One response
Perhaps someone who understands the matter in the field, can explain, at least on a qualitative level, what are the groundbreaking discoveries of Prof. Obsicher and Dr. Playedroish, mentioned in the article? Thanks .