Born of expertise developed at the
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
, medical device startup company Neograft Technologies was formed in 2009 and is developing Angioshield™, an intraperative system that creates a micro-fibrous, polymer sleeve intimately surrounding the outside surface of a harvested vein to mechanically reinforce and protect it from overdilation. This work emerges from the University of Pittsburgh by company founders Drs. Mohammed El-Kurdi and Lorenzo Soletti and their academic advisors McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member David Vorp, PhD, professor of surgery (general/vascular) and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a director of the Center for Vascular Remodeling and Regeneration, as well as the director of the Vascular Surgery and Vascular Biomechanics Research Lab, and McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine deputy director William Wagner, PhD, professor of surgery, bioengineering and chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, the director of thrombosis research for the Artificial Heart and Lung Program, and deputy director of the NSF Engineering Research Center on “Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials.”
Neograft Technologies Inc. recently closed on a $5 million funding round led by an unnamed Pennsylvania private investment fund. Based in Taunton, MA, Neograft also received backing from a second unnamed investment fund and from several private investors, the company said. The new funds will be used to complete preclinical testing and development of the company’s Angioshield™ technology for use in structural support of veins during heart bypass procedures.
Over 13 million patients currently suffer from coronary heart disease, the leading cause of morbidity worldwide. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) remains the gold standard with nearly 300,000 surgeries performed annually in the U.S. alone. Failure of saphenous vein grafts in CABG is a highly significant problem. As many as 30 percent of these grafts become occluded in the first year, and the failure rate is as great as 50 percent at 5 years. Failed grafts cause significant morbidity, vastly impaired quality of life, and frequently require reintervention.
Illustration: Neograft Technologies.
Mass High Tech (08/09/11)
Bio: Dr. David Vorp
Bio: Dr. William Wagner