Editor’s note: WRAL TechWire and the Council for Entrepreneurial development are partnering to present a series of profiles and Q&As featuring companies startups and emerging companies participating in the CED’s annual Life Science conference coming up Feb. 28-March 1 in Raleigh. The latest profile is medical device startup Contego Medical, which is based in Raleigh.

Contego Medical

  • Web site: http://www.contegomedical.com
  • CEO: Nathalie Greene
  • ​Contact information: ngreene@contegomedical.com
  • Sub-sector: Medical Device                                                                              
  • Headquarters: Raleigh, NC                                                         
  • Year Founded: 2013
  • Video overview: https://vimeo.com/204197015

COMPANY PROFILE

Contego Medical, LLC is a commercial stag medical device company dedicated to the development of novel devices to improve cardiovascular outcomes. The company’s Integrated Embolic Protection (IEP) platform, which combines embolic protection and treatment into one device, is designed to simplify and improve outcomes during catheter-based procedures. Contego Medical’s portfolio is poised to transform cardiovascular and endovascular interventions by making existing procedures safer without increasing complexity or compromising performance.

The company is focused on three initial products with Integrated Embolic Protection:

  • The Paladin® Carotid Post-Dilation Balloon System, the first and only angioplasty balloon with IEP technology aimed at reducing stroke risk,
  • The Vanguard IEP® Peripheral Balloon Angioplasty System
  • The Corguard® Coronary Sirolimus-Eluting Stent System.

FOUNDERS/MANAGEMENT TEAM

  • Ravish Sachar MD, CEO
  • David Stern, COO
  • Nathalie Greene, Vice President of Finance
  • Joop Meijer, Vice President of European Sales
  • Elizabeth Saylors, Vice President of Quality and Clinical Affairs

KEY MILESTONES TO DATE

  • Funding: $9.6MM through Series B
  • CE Mark and commercialization of Paladin System
  • CE Mark of Vanguard IEP System
  • Completion of the Paladin System clinical study with best-in-class data to date
  • EMEA distribution agreement with a large multinational company

Q&A

  • What is the primary pain point you are seeking to address?

There are approximately 7 million interventional cardiovascular procedures performed worldwide each year to open occluded blood vessels. During these procedures, as a balloon or stent is used to open the arteries, plaque or thrombus can be dislodged. This process is known as embolization, and the particles are called emboli. We now know that embolization occurs in 100% of interventional procedures. The embolic material which is dislodged may have different clinical implications depending on the anatomical target and health of the patient, but consequences can be severe including stroke, amputation and secondary heart attack.

Embolic protection devices (EPDs) have been developed to protect against this phenomenon, but currently available EPDs can only be used in about 25% of cases due to the added complexity and cost associated with their usage.

With Contego Medical’s Integrated Embolic Protection (IEP) technology platform, embolic protection can be offered to all patients during interventional procedures. As such, we are developing a portfolio of devices targeted at multiple vascular anatomies and treatments.

  • What sets your company apart? What’s the “secret sauce”?

The key to Contego Medical’s value is our Integrated Embolic Protection (IEP) technology that incorporates an anatomically-designed filter on the same catheter as the interventional treatment. This functional combination has never been incorporated onto the same device.

The filter itself is unique in that it is the first to allow adjustability to all vessel sizes and anatomies, in-vivo, maximizing capture efficiency. Filter location, just distal to the treatment portion of the catheter, shortens capture distance which also protects side branch vessels. The versatility of this technology allows it to be implemented onto any stent or balloon system.

  • Why should investors be interested in your company? What is the potential market size?

Due to the platform nature of the technology, Contego is able to apply our proven patented filter technology to multiple vascular procedures.  Creating a unique, diverse product portfolio allows the company to reduce commercialization risk and create an economic advantage by incorporating multiple treatment devices into one.  The addressable market for carotid, coronary, and peripheral vascular is greater than $3B per year.  Contego brings a technology which improves the capture of embolic particles, improving patient safety and streamlining existing treatment.