Italian Angels for Growth, the main Italian business angel association, announces the closing of a first round (seed investment) of 900 thousand euros (1,1 million dollar) to enter the capital of SediciDodici, a medtech startup, settled in Pordenone Technology Park.
A consortium of business angels of Italian Angels for Growth, gave confidence and a good injection of cash to this company, who promises to bring to market within a couple of years a device capable of monitoring and predict in just three minutes a thrombotic event, cause of stroke and heart attack.
Developed in collaboration with the CRO of Aviano, renowned Italian research and treatment center in oncology, the Smart Clot, this is the device name, meets a specific health need: to have most advanced and effective tools to prevent the two main causes of death worldwide, stroke and heart attack. At the moment, there isn’t a medical device such as Smart Clot, capable in a single exam that lasts three minutes to monitor, detect, and then alert, on the arrival of thrombus, which is the kind of blood disease that generates heart attacks.
Smart Clot can be described as “killer application” in medical sector and the size of the investment made by the IAG members shows that the prospects and growth potential of the company is really interesting.
Antonio Leone, the angel who led the consortium of partners IAG, says “We were really impressed by the great potential of this innovative diagnostic tool, that’s why we decided to support the entire process of further development that will bring it to market. The biomedical field is very sensitive because it has to do with the health of the person, require testing and validation, which means more time than other innovative sectors. But long time for investors means great confidence not only in the product, which in this case is very significant, but also in the entrepreneurial team “.
The potential market for Smart Clot technology is huge and includes hospitals, clinical laboratories and surgery centers for cardiovascular disease.
SediciDodici, the company that has developed Smart Clot is composed of eight people with different and complementary skills, an Italian company that could face significant challenges globally.
“We started this adventure as a bet – Raul Pietrini, one of the founders, said – but then it became an exciting challenge that continues to give us enormous satisfaction, not least the important input of IAG members who believed in our project “.
In the short history of Italian Angels for Growth (group of angels born in 2007 thanks to the involvement in the Partnership for Growth program, sponsored by former Us Ambassador in Italy Ronald Spogli ) this last deal is the largest investment “only angels” (VC funds-free) made in first round and it is probably one the most significant ever made in the young history of Italian angel investing.
Marco Villa, co-founder and Managing Director of IAG, explains “The investment in SediciDodici is the largest ever carried out independently by IAG members in the history of the Association. This is a real financial commitment that support innovation and that demonstrates once again how the angel investing is increasingly an engine of growth to support entrepreneurs and the country, even in a time of economic crise as the one we are nowdays facing “.
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