Asthmatx Mountain View, CA Invested: December 2005 Asthmatx has developed and patented a radiofrequency catheter and controller for reducing the amount of airway smooth muscle tissue in the lungs of asthma patients. This procedure improves the pulmonary function of moderate and severe asthmatics. Over 13 million adults in the U.S. suffer from asthma, roughly 10% or 1.3 million have been diagnosed with severe asthma. Hansen Medical Mountain View, CA Invested: November 2005 Hansen has developed a robotic catheter control system for precise catheter navigation and control within the chambers of the heart. The first application of the Hansen robotic system will be to enable the RF ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) arrhythmias in the left atrium. There are 2.2 million US patients suffering from AF with an annual incidence of 160K patients. Drug therapy is inadequate, open surgical procedures have high morbidity rates, and unguided catheter ablation lacks efficacy. Hansen’s robotic technology provides precise guidance and control of the RF ablation catheter thereby enabling more effective and less time consuming AF procedures. Hansen’s robotic system will be applied to other cardiac procedures in the future. Peptimmune Cambridge, MA Invested: March 2003 Peptimmune is a biotechnology company which develops specific immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune and allergic diseases. The company is u...
