Arbor Surgical Raises $20 Million

Arbor Surgical Technologies Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based medical device maker, has raised $20 million in Series C funding. Medtronic led the round, as part of a licensing agreement that provides Medtronic with rights to Arbor's trilobal pericardial valve technologies.

Return backers included Delphi Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Three Arch Partners, Affinity Capital Management, Baird Capital Partners, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Alloy Ventures, Sapient Capital, Sage Venture Management and Fisk Ventures. The company has now raised around $54 million.

PRESS RELEASE

Arbor Surgical Technologies, Inc., a privately held medical device company, announced today the closing of a $20 million dollar Series C financing round. Medtronic Inc. led the investment as part of a licensing agreement that was reached between the two companies. The agreement provides Medtronic with manufacturing, marketing and distribution rights to Arbor's advanced trilobal pericardial valve technologies. Financial terms of the license agreement have not been disclosed. Arbor retains exclusive rights to the modular Trilogy(TM) Aortic Valve System and sutureless TRE(TM) implantation technologies.

“I am truly excited about this opportunity.” said Dr. John Liddicoat, Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic Structural Heart Disease. “No other comparable technology is on the horizon.” Existing Arbor investors also participated in this new round of financing. With the closing of this event, Arbor has raised approximately $54 million dollars to date.

“We are excited to complete this milestone round of financing. Recognition from such a major player in the industry confirms the value of our technology,” said Steve Bacich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbor. “This financing event will allow us to expand clinical trials of our core technologies, the Trilogy(TM) Aortic Valve System and the sutureless TRE(TM) implantation tool. These devices are designed to enable more surgeons to perform minimally invasive heart valve procedures. We believe that the adoption of Arbor's products will improve the lives of heart valve patients worldwide.”

About Arbor Surgical Technologies, Inc.

Arbor Surgical Technologies, Inc., (www.arborsurgical.com) with facilities in Irvine and Portola Valley, CA (USA), is a privately held cardiovascular device company focused on the minimally invasive heart valve replacement market. Founded in 2002 by Dr. Thomas J. Fogarty and noted valve designer, Ernie Lane, Arbor is developing technologies intended to deliver significant clinical benefits to patients worldwide. The Trilogy(TM) Aortic Valve System and TRE(TM) attachment technologies are designed to expand the use of minimally invasive heart valve procedures.