Urovalve Receives Funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) To Advance Its Surinate® Urinary Catheter

Valved catheter is designed to make it possible for men with a urinary retention condition to keep their secret to themselves

NEWARK, N.J.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Urovalve, a medical device company focused on creating products for urinary flow and control, announced today that it has received funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency (NJEDA) to advance development of its Surinate® Bladder Management System—designed to improve the quality of life of men who suffer from acute or chronic urinary retention, an inability to empty the bladder.

“Surinate® is a state-of-the-art alternative to the repeated insertion and removal of conventional urinary catheter devices, some of which must be put in and taken out of a patient four to six times a day”

Terms of the funding were not disclosed. To date, Urovalve has now raised $3.8 million from private investors and other sources, including the New Jersey Commission of Science and Technology and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Surinate® is a state-of-the-art alternative to the repeated insertion and removal of conventional urinary catheter devices, some of which must be put in and taken out of a patient four to six times a day,” said Harvey D. Homan, Ph.D., President and CEO of Urovalve. “The Surinate® system provides for one single insertion over a 28-day cycle, and requires no tubes or other materials outside the body, such as a urine-collection bag, while enabling the individual to void urine from his bladder simply by using a magnetized valve control.

“Besides greatly reducing the chances of urinary infection, the Surinate® system also provides lifestyle normalcy,” added Dr. Homan. “The ability to avoid infection, especially of the hospital-related type, could offer huge savings for the healthcare system.”

A pilot study of the Surinate® Bladder Management System is underway at four medical institutions: VA Boston Healthcare System; VA New Jersey (East Orange) Healthcare System; Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Urologic Surgery; and, The Virginia Urology Center. The pilot study is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2009. The Company intends to commence a pivotal clinical study in the first half of the new year.

Urovalve, Inc. (www.urovalve.com) is a privately held company located in the Enterprise Development Center at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey. The company develops superior medical devices to address problems associated with urinary flow and control.