Paragate from Haifa has developed a device that is implanted into the heart and kidney of patients and drains the unnecessary fluids that cause edema, bloating and difficulty breathing. Now, the company raises investors for $15,000 in exchange for shares
Dr. Yair Peled, a cardiologist at Rambam Medical Center, was dealing with a patient with a heart condition that was under his care because the fluids accumulated in her body threatened her life. Surprisingly, the patient remained alive longer than expected, and as he approached to check why this happened, Dr. Peled discovered that a small crack that appeared on one of her legs had managed to drain the many fluids accumulating in her body.
This case led to the idea that established Paragate, which has developed a device that can change the lives of millions of heart patients around the world and save health care the number one cause of recurring hospitalizations. The device produces a path parallel to the body’s natural drainage system, which opens an opening for fluids to exit the body almost naturally.
The innovative concept is actually another type of “organ” fully implanted in the patient’s body. The new organ can collect in a bag the excess fluid that loads the body (in a natural process of diffusion), transferring it directly to the patient’s bladder and out of the body.
It is a comprehensive process that takes place inside the patient’s body, without the need for medication or external intervention. The device operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing an effective and continuous response to a chronic problem that millions suffer from.
A market of 26 million patients
26 million people around the world suffer from heart failure, which causes them quite a few chronic problems requiring frequent hospital admissions. The weak heart of these patients affects the other organs of the body, including the kidneys that are supposed to drain fluid and toxins from the body, and thus have to deal with swelling, edema and breathing difficulties caused by extracellular fluids that accumulate in their bodies.
This medical condition results in a drastic decline in the quality of life of patients and their families, who often have to go to hospitals for fluid drainage. They are hospitalized, receive chemical drugs to treat the problem and may be exposed to infections and even endanger life-threatening situations.
Also, health care systems have to deal with the huge financial burden caused by the repatriations and treatment, with the United States alone spending $17 billion a year on these patients. 90% of cardiac patients return to additional hospitalizations and, as mentioned, result in heavy costs and expensive hospital utilization as a result of their care.
Liquid drainage 24/7
“The product we have developed will bring about a dramatic change in the cardiovascular clinical setting,” says Paragate CEO Nitai Hanani. “It is a solution that can release patients to their homes with an internal system that takes care of their health 24 hours a day and such that can be controlled.”
“The world’s health systems have a strong interest in purchasing the product that can save them billions of dollars and optimize care, extend patients’ lives and improve them dramatically – so we are confident in its success,” he emphasizes.
One of the world’s most promising companies
“Paragate brings the future to medical services and is pioneers in solving one of the most common problems that cause hospitalization,” adds CPA Shuki Cohen Sharet, chairman of Together Investments. “We chose Paragate from a large number of companies, thanks in part to the senior and experienced professional staff who accompany it.
“The company has a revolutionary product that international experts in the field believe is going to change the world of cardiovascular medicine, and it has tremendous market potential and benefits for both patients and the world’s healthcare systems,” he explains.
The company does, in its management team, name some of the most prominent names in the world of cardiology alongside high-tech industry executives, who have already demonstrated impressive successes and exits with other biotech companies.
Paragate has won several awards in its few years of operation and has even been selected as one of the 25 most promising rising medical device companies in the world for 2018. The company has also won the prestigious EU Horizon 2020 grant.
“We are exposed daily to high-tech companies who want to support them, but we have already proven that the companies we choose must bring real news, breakthrough product, technological innovation, broad market, and professional staff,” says CPA Cohen Sharett. “With Paragate, we have seen all the components of a company that is going to revolutionize its field and we now allow up to 35 investors to become shareholders in the company through our Angel Club, starting at $15,000.”