Nellix Press Release
Band of Angels & Incubic Venture Fund
August 25, 2005
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Nellix
Inc.'s development of a tiny surgical device that supports blood flow through
damaged arteries has attracted venture investment from two prestigious Bay Area
based private equity groups, The Band of Angels and Incubic Venture Fund. This is the first institutional round in the
early stage medical device startup, located in Redwood City. "This project has enormous potential to
treat AAA percutaneously," said Jim McKinley CEO of Nellix, “The Band of
Angels and the Incubic Venture Fund are great partners for us, including the
addition of Bill Nighan, partner at Incubic Venture Fund, and Dr. Wally Buch,
Member of the Band of Angels, to our Board of Directors. This is a great affirmation that we are on
the right track.”
The
Band of Angels and Incubic Venture Fund have invested in Nellix, which is
developing a new therapy for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a
ballooning and weakening in the wall of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. This ballooning can lead to a rupture, which
is often fatal, because of the great volume of blood lost at high rate and
pressure. The market for the specific
stent grafts used to preventatively repair AAA was approximately $250 million
last year, according to industry analysts.
Competitive products for this treatment include those from Trivascular
(now Boston Scientific), Endologix, Cook, Gore, and Medtronic (through its
AneuRx acquisition).
“This
technology promises to fundamentally change the way Triple-As are treated,”
said Dr. Wally Buch, Member of the Band of Angels, “in so doing Nellix promises
to become a major company and save lives.”
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About
Band of Angels:
The Band
consists of over 100 executives and founders of many of the high tech companies
that have made Silicon Valley famous.
The group meets monthly to evaluate early stage deals selected from the
more than 50 that solicit this opportunity each month. For more information, please visit: www.bandangels.com