Stent Tek, a medical device company that is developing a minimally invasive catheter system for dialysis patients, announced today it has successfully closed a Series A funding round with investments from two institutional investors.

Julz and Deepbridge Capital have made investments that will allow the company to advance the development of its ePATH AVF medical device, a patented minimally invasive catheter technology for vascular access creation. The device offers an alternative to a surgical fistula in patients requiring haemodialysis for kidney failure.

In order to develop the ePATH AVF device, Stent Tek previously received £1.2 million in grant funding from the National Institute of Health Research* (NIHR), Innovate UK, and the and the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub. Stent Tek has validated the core functionality of the system in in-vivo models and anticipates the ePATH AVF catheter system will complete pre-clinical trials by Q4 2017.

Sorin Popa, co-Founder and CEO of Stent Tek commented:

"We are delighted with the investment from Deepbridge Capital and Julz. They bring valuable knowledge, well-respected global networks and synergy to Stent Tek's efforts to be the leading provider of a minimally invasive alternative to surgical fistulas for vascular access. With our combined experience and the investors' valuable inputs into our strategic developmental efforts, Stent Tek will gain momentum in translating clinical advancements to market readiness."

Julz has offices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Suzhou, China and invests globally in healthcare companies in all sectors, with a focus on therapeutics, medical devices, digital health and services. Deepbridge Capital is a UK based VC that focuses on life sciences which provided Stent Tek with initial seed investment in 2016.

Dr. Zishan Haroon, General Partner at Julz, commented: "Stent Tek's ePATH AVF represents an exciting and significant advance in management of vascular access creation scenarios for patients. We are thrilled to support this round of investment for Stent Tek and help them push forward with their plans for getting the product to market."

Savvas Neophytou of Deepbridge Capital echoed the sentiments expressed by Dr. Haroon and added that in his association with Stent Tek over the last two years, he has seen Mr. Popa and his team grow rapidly and being active in the device development and testing. "I was thoroughly impressed of the discipline shown by the team and its proactive handling of issues that startups invariably face in developing medical devices that require high regulatory compliance. We are delighted to follow our initial seed investment and look forward to working with the Stent Tek team."