German medtech Protembis receives €20 Million EIB funding for brain protection technology

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €20 million in venture-debt financing to German medical-technology company Protembis to develop a next-generation device for protecting the brains of patients who undergo certain heart treatments.

The funding is to support clinical trials, research, development and market access for the ‘ProtEmbo’ cerebral embolic protection system. ProtEmbo is a filter device that deflects embolic material away from arteries to the brain during left-sided heart procedures including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), countering risks including stroke and cognitive decline. ProtEmbo is inserted during TAVR, an x-ray guided procedure to replace an aortic valve that has narrowed and doesn't open fully, via the artery in the left wrist. ProtEmbo lines the roof of the aortic arch, shielding the brain from the dislodged debris.

The EIB accord with Protembis is supported by the InvestEU programme to trigger more than €372 billion in additional investment in new technologies until 2027. The deal is aligned with the InvestEU objective of promoting research, development and innovation.

In March 2024, Protembis completed a €30 million Series B financing round to advance a pivotal FDA approved Investigational Device Exemption study called the ProtEmbo trial. The trial will enrol between 250 and 500 patients undergoing TAVR in Europe and the US. The study aims to show the superiority of ProtEmbo by randomising against a hybrid control group: half of this control-group receiving no protection and half receiving the current predicate system called “Sentinel”.