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November 17, 2005
Hansen Medical Announces Final C Round
Hansen Medical Secures $30 Million in Series C Financing
Led by Vanguard Ventures
Hansen Medical was founded by Fred Moll, founder of
Intuitive Surgical. Fred and his team have developed a
robotically-controlled catheter to perform minimally invasive
procedures. Below, Hansen reports raising $30 million
in Series C Financing. The financing reported here will
allow Hansen to further demonstrate the safety and efficacy
of their robotically-controlled catheter.
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Hansen Medical, Inc., a developer of robotic technology
for accurate control of catheter movement in three dimensions
(3D) during therapeutic cardiac procedures, announced
today it has completed the sale of $30 million of series
C preferred stock. This brings the total equity investment
in the company to over $58 million. Vanguard Ventures,
a leading, early-stage venture capital firm, led the round
with participation from existing investors including Prospect
Venture Partners, Skyline Venture Partners, Thomas Weisel
Healthcare Venture Partners, De Novo Ventures and Sapient
Capital.
The capital raised will be used to fund the company's
ongoing research and development efforts, as well as the
launch and commercialization of the Hansen Robotic Catheter
System (RCS) into the electrophysiology market in 2006.
The Hansen Medical technology includes a robotic catheter
manipulator which responds instinctively to physicians'
commands input to a workstation, and is designed to allow
physicians to place ablation catheters in hard-to-reach
anatomical locations within the heart. The technology
is also designed to allow physicians to maintain stability
during treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias, such
as atrial fibrillation, a major cause of embolic stroke
and severe long-term disability.
“Strong momentum exists in the catheter guidance
market place and Hansen Medical is well positioned to
become the leader in this space based on its ability to
enhance both the speed and safety of catheter-based procedures,"
said Thomas C. McConnell, general partner of Vanguard
Ventures. "The Hansen Medical technology is designed
to offer increased control over catheter placement inside
the heart, and should allow physicians to perform complex
procedures less invasively, with better outcomes.”
Hansen Medical has a portfolio of more than 50 patents
and patent applications principally related to minimally
invasive robotic intervention. Recently, the company entered
into a cross license agreement with Intuitive Surgical,
Inc., giving it the right to use technologies covered
under Intuitive Surgical's issued and pending patents
in the field of intravascular approaches that enable the
diagnosis or treatment of cardiovascular, neurovascular
and peripheral vascular diseases.
Pre-clinical studies for the Hansen RCS were conducted
to evaluate the ability of the guide sheath and steerable
guide catheter to remotely navigate an ablation catheter
to a series of anatomical targets in the right and left
atria. Placement of radiofrequency (RF) ablation lesions
and control of 3D surface-mapping catheters were also
assessed. The results of these studies suggest that the
Hansen RCS offers an effective alternative to manual control
for placement and manipulations of such catheters.
“We are very excited to receive this round of funding
led by Vanguard Ventures and appreciative of the continued
support from our existing investors," said Frederic
Moll, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of Hansen
Medical. "This new funding will help us continue
to aggressively build our business and, once cleared for
sale by the FDA, allow us to launch this exciting new
product. Additionally, the funding will help us continue
to explore the vast opportunities for this technology
that extend well beyond our initial applications in treating
cardiac arrhythmias.”
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