PanDx raises seed investment to develop a versatile catheter to treat severe GI conditions
RBV Capital invested RUB 105 million (ca. $1.5M) in PanDx, a UK-based company developing a novel catheter to treat acute pancreatitis and other severe conditions of the gastrointestinal tract (GI). Igor Gonikhin, Investment Director at RBV Capital, will join the company’s board of directors.
PanDx’ patented device can create an isolated area of the GI while maintaining connectivity and supporting key GI functions, which allows it to be installed in a patient for up to several days. This approach enables the efficient evacuation of biological fluids for prolonged periods of time to improve the condition of severe patients with acute pancreatitis, gut fistulas and cholangitis. By isolating a specific area and applying controlled negative pressure, it is also possible to collect biomaterials to develop diagnostic tools for liver and pancreatic cancers and monitor the dynamics of GI diseases.
The lead therapeutic indication is moderate and severe acute pancreatitis, which is currently only treated symptomatically or surgically. Acute pancreatitis is the cause of more than 2.5 million hospitalizations and over 100,000 deaths globally.
The seed round investment will finance exploratory clinical trials in patients with acute pancreatitis and gut fistulas.
Vitali Proutski, CEO and co-founder of PanDx:
«We are very pleased to have secured the investment by RBV Capital. Our device has an outstanding design and unique functionality. Its use in clinical practice will bring to the next level the standard of therapy in many widespread severe conditions, which for decades have been witnessing a lack of breakthrough innovations or meaningful improvements in clinical outcomes. We are certain that the participation of RBV Capital, an experienced investor in life sciences, will allow us to fully realize the potential of our invention».
Igor Gonikhin, Investment Director at RBV Capital, Board member:
«PanDx is another investment by RBV Capital backing a innovation with great potential, not just in the local market but globally, since acute pancreatitis has remained a large and unaddressed medical need for many years. PanDx is run by an excellent team which includes both practicing clinicians and management with deep expertise in healthcare, and we believe that their product will be able to demonstrate efficacy and safety as soon as in 2021».
Company website: www.pandica.com