25. August 2015 Medical device company Protembis GmbH has closed its seed financing round

Hamburg-based startup company Protembis GmbH has successfully closed a seven-digit seed financing round in order to fund R&D activities and clinical trials over the coming years. Protembis aims to develop, manufacture and commercialise an embolic protection device to be used during left heart procedures and vascular interventions. The ProtEmbo device is intended to protect patients from the risk of suffering a stroke during these procedures. In addition to the seed financing round, Protembis has secured a seven-digit state subsidy in cooperation with the Institute for Cardiovascular Engineering at RWTH University Aachen, which is granted by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). With the company's locations in Hamburg and Aachen, opinion leaders, medical centres, funding and partner companies for product development, testing, feedbackand commercialisation are easily accessible, which will enable Protembis to build a strong network of advisors and supporters for the development of its ProtEmbo device. Dr. Gert Frank, CEO of Geratherm Medical AG, notes "The ProtEmbo device is clearly a novel and unique solution to address the danger of strokesin aortic valve replacement and other interventional heart procedures. Having closed this financing round Protembis will be able to reach the next level in terms of R&D and clinical trials. With Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and the group of highly experienced angel investors we have an excellent setup to help further develop Protembis." Karl von Mangoldt and Conrad Rasmus, Managing Directors at Protembis GmbH, are pleased that the new investors provide a sound financing platform for the company's future activities. They note "This seed financing round allows us to achieve significant milestones in the development of our device and to obtain relevant clinical data." Along with the seed financing, Protembis has also strengthened its technical team. Oliver Schumacher, who has a wealth of experience with medical devices, will join the company as Chief Technology Officer. About Protembis
Founded in autumn 2013, Protembis is a medical device start-up company headquartered in the vibrant Betahaus Hamburg, with an R&D base in the medical technology city of Aachen. The team's vision is to bring its device into every interventional and surgical heart procedure, reducing the number of strokes and radically improving patient safety. Protembis GmbH is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (see also:http://www.bmbf.de/de/16663.php). About Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg
Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg invests in innovative, Hamburg-based companies in order to strengthen their research and development activities. The fund has an actual size of EUR12 million; capital is provided in equal share by the City of Hamburg and the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE). Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of IFB Hamburg, is entrusted with management of the fund. About Geratherm Medical AG
Geratherm Medical is an internationally-aligned medical technology company with business divisions of Health Care Diagnostics, Medical Warming Systems, Cardio/Stroke and Respiratory. The company provides high-quality products; ranging from thermometers tocomplex warming systems for operations and emergency use. In the area of Cardio it concentrates on developing products for detecting atrial fibrillation, which prevent strokes. The Respiratory division develops, produces and distributes products for measuring lung function. Geratherm Medical has been quoted on the stock exchange since 2000 and is approved forofficial trading in the Prime Standards category on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange. Inaddition, Geratherm Medical is listed in the German Entrepreneurial Index and the German Health-Care Index. Contact:
IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH
Doreen Huhle | Investment Manager
Besenbinderhof 31 | 20097 Hamburg
Tel.: +49 40 657980590 | E-Mail: huhle@innovationsstarter.com
www.innovationsstarter.com Geratherm Medical AG
Martina Schramm | Investor Relations
Fahrenheitstraße 1 | 98716 Geschwenda
Tel.: +49 36 205980 | E-Mail: info@geratherm.com
www.geratherm.de Protembis GmbH
Karl von Mangoldt, Conrad Rasmus | Managing Directors
c/o Betahaus | Eifflerstraße 43 | 22769 Hamburg
E-Mail: info@protembis.com
www.protembis.com