Seeking to bolster its development of a biocompatible graft that promises to reshape the future of cardiac bypass surgery, Medical 21, a medtech device company, today announced it has filed a Form 1-A [https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001673688/000167368822000006/0001673688-22-000006-index.htm] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is now accepting, from the public, reservations for its $40 million funding round on its website (medical21.com).
Medical 21's innovative artificial graft eliminates the need to harvest saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) or other veins and arteries, shortens procedure time, reduces pain, decreases patient recovery time, and avoids scarring, among many other benefits.
Medical 21's graft technology will vastly improve the recovery of heart bypass patients and assist cardiac surgeons by reducing operating times. The graft provides the flexibility to perform bypass surgery either on the heart-lung bypass machine or "off-pump" and reduces costs associated with wound-related post-operative care and readmissions.
Medical 21 was founded by Manny Villafaña, Ph.D. Sc.D., a globally recognized entrepreneur and medical device developer. Known as the co-developer of the St. Jude heart valve and founder of St. Jude Medical, Inc., Villafaña has been named a Living Legend of Medicine by The World Society of CardioThoracic Surgery and is an award-winning USA Master Entrepreneur, a member of the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame, an inductee of the Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Medical Design Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Villafaña has led seven of his companies into successful IPOs.
"We see Reg A+ financing as the 21st century way of funding a company and bringing this life-changing solution to market," said Villafaña. "Despite having an accomplished career in the cardiac health space, Medical 21 is by far the company I'm most excited about because of its enormous potential to improve conditions for the millions of coronary artery heart bypass surgery patients."
