The 'spin-off' Nimble Diagnostics closes a one-million-euro round

Nimble Diagnostics has developed a system that allows non-invasive monitoring of stents, one of the most widely used medical devices in the world due to their ability to restore the correct flow of blood or other fluids, but, in turn, difficult to control once implanted. The company, a spin-off of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), has raised more than one million euros to advance the validation of its technology, with the forecast of starting to commercialize it from 2025.

Stents are used to treat cardiovascular diseases and help prevent myocardial infarction or treat symptoms that persist in the patient. They are metallic tubes that are implanted in the arteries and, once placed, cannot be removed. The problem comes when they become obstructed or damaged. Symptoms do not appear until the stent has lost 90% of its capacity and it is already too late to avoid complications such as stroke, heart attack or even sudden death. Currently, their condition can only be checked when the patient begins to feel unwell and, furthermore, it has to be done through an invasive, costly and complex test, angiography, which consists of introducing a catheter into the artery to directly inspect the stent.

Nimble Diagnostics' device allows checking the condition of the stent and seeing if there are obstructions with more time margin, when there are still no symptoms, with the aim of being able to prevent the deterioration of the patient's health through medication or the implantation of a new stent. The startup has devised a medical device that detects degradation using microwaves that interact with the stent material, with a simple and fast method. Then, using algorithms that interpret the data, they accurately determine the condition of the stent and its degree of degradation.

The round closed by the company has been led by Grow Ventures, the new Barcelona-based venture capital firm specializing in investing in early-stage deep technologies and helping scientists become entrepreneurs. It has also had the participation of Namarel Ventures and Inveniam Group. The resources obtained will allow the completion of preclinical trials, with very positive initial results, to carry out regulatory studies, expand the team, and conduct the first clinical trial, scheduled for Can Ruti in 2024. This has been the first private financing round for Nimbe Diagnostics, which had already raised half a million euros in public investment thanks to CaixaImpulse, FIS, La Marató, and the Premi Societat Catalana.