OSF Ventures Expands Support in Company Addressing Heart Failure Management

PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, was part of an investor syndicate helping medtech company, Endotronix, Inc., close a $45 million Series D round of financing.

The financing will support the commercialization of the Cordella™ Heart Failure System and clinical development of the Cordella™ Pulmonary Artery Sensor, including FDA Premarket Approval.

Founded in Peoria, Illinois, Endotronix developed a wireless sensor that is implanted into an artery to monitor pulmonary artery pressure and a patient management solution to improve patient care. Clinical information gathered from the sensor is securely transmitted to a patient's doctor in real-time via a handheld reader, which allows a patient greater mobility.  The pressure data is an early indicator of worsening heart failure, and having real-time access to it allows doctors to better manage advanced heart failure.

Nearly 6 million Americans live with heart failure. It is the leading cause of hospitalization for people over 65 with annual treatment costs exceeding $31 billion. Clinical studies have demonstrated that pulmonary artery pressure-guided management can reduce heart failure-related hospitalizations and reduce mortality.

"This research is exciting as the sensor technology is smaller and more portable, allowing for more frequent pressure monitoring. It also looks to couple an Internet-based home disease management system with the pulmonary artery pressure sensor data," said Barry Clemson, M.D., OSF HealthCare Ministry Heart Failure Medical Director. "This device has the potential to greatly impact the care of patients with chronic heart failure and improve their quality of life."

OSF Ventures invested in the series C round of financing for Endotronix in 2016, which enabled safety and feasibility studies for the implantable sensor.

"Our confidence in the Cordella™ Pulmonary Artery Sensor has only expanded as the Company and its technology has matured. We see this as a significant, emerging technology that has great potential for heart failure patients," said Stan Lynall, Vice President of Venture Investments for OSF HealthCare.

The Series D investment round was led by LSP, investing from its LSP Health Economics Fund 2, and included Aperture Venture Partners, BioVentures Investors, Lumira Ventures, Seroba Life Sciences, SV Health Investors, Wanxiang Healthcare Investments, and an unnamed corporate strategic investor, in addition to OSF Ventures.

OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria, is owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, and consists of nearly 21,000 employees in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals, 11 Centers for Health and 15 OSF PromptCares throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF Innovation, ranked among the top 10 innovation centers in the country, is located in Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center. Launched in 2016, OSF Innovation is a multidisciplinary innovation center focused on internal and external innovation to solve the largest health care challenges. More at www.osfinnovation.org and www.osfhealthcare.org. 

OSF Ventures specializes in venture optimization, partnering financially and operationally in companies that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to health care systems. OSF Ventures is a division of OSF HealthCare. More at www.osfventures.org.

About Endotronix
Endotronix, Inc., a digital health, medtech company, is developing an integrated platform to provide comprehensive, reimbursable health management tools for patients suffering from chronic heart failure. The company's comprehensive solution includes a cloud-based disease management data system and outpatient hemodynamic management with a breakthrough implantable wireless pulmonary artery sensor for early detection of worsening heart failure. Learn more at www.endotronix.com.

Contact: Shelli Dankoff, Media Relations Program Manager  (309) 655-3897

SOURCE OSF HealthCare