ePlanet Ventures Invests in Direct Flow Medical

Direct Flow Medical has developed a catheter-based system to replace the aortic valve percutaneously in patients with valvular disease. The investigational device is an implantable pericardial tissue valve that allows simple delivery via a transfemoral approach. Its easy positioning (or repositioning) and retrieval features are intended to enable physicians to correctly size and place the device in its targeted location providing a new level of safety for patients. The design also is intended to allow the physician to obtain full hemodynamic data and imaging prior to final device placement. This is a revolutionary procedure, with an addressable market of $3.7 billion per annum, before accounting for new patients that had been previously left untreated as they were unsuitable for open-heart surgery. ePlanet Ventures Director, Martin Dieck, commented, “We believe that the Direct Flow technology represents a revolutionary step forward in how patients with valvular disease will be treated in the future.”

“We are very pleased to invest in Direct Flow, and are excited by the company’s prospects,” said Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures. “The Life Sciences / Medical Devices space has been an intrinsic value-generating segment of ePlanet’s global portfolio, and we intend to expand investment in this area going forward.”

The deal is syndicated with new institutional investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Foundation Medical Partners, and VantagePoint Venture Partners in addition to existing investors, EDF Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners and Spray Venture Partners.

ABOUT EPLANET VENTURES

ePlanet Ventures is a leading global venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, with international offices in London, New Delhi, Bangalore, Singapore, Shanghai, and Beijing.?ePlanet Ventures has funded over 76 innovative high-growth companies world-wide, including landmark deals Baidu (NASDAQ listing August 2005, US$12B current market cap), Skype (sold to eBay for US$3B in 2005), and Focus Media (NASDAQ listing 2005, US$6B current market cap).?ePlanet has created over US$ 20 billion in aggregate shareholder value on its transactions. The firm has won the China Venture Capital Association Exit of the Year 2005 Award for Baidu, and the European Venture Capital Association Deal of the Year 2006 Award for Skype, and has been profiled in FORBES Feb 2007 as a ‘Pioneer in Global Venture Capital’.

About Direct Flow Medical, Inc.

Direct Flow Medical was founded in 2004 by Gordon Bishop and Randy Lashinski. The Company is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California and currently employs 25 people. Direct Flow Medical was initially funded by EDF Ventures in 2004 and completed its Series A round of private equity financing in August 2005 which was co-led by Spray Venture Partners and New Leaf Venture Partners.