CytoSorbents, a company in the treatment of life-threatening conditions in the intensive care unit and cardiac surgery using blood purification via its proprietary polymer adsorption technology, entered into a new $20 million credit facility with Avenue Capital Group, including its Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund and Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund II, on June 28, 2024. Armentum Partners served as financial advisor to the company on the transaction.
Proceeds from the facility are intended to provide non-dilutive working capital to support the company’s ongoing global CytoSorb franchise in critical care and cardiac surgery, planned marketing applications to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada for DrugSorb-ATR and initial launch and commercialization preparations, if approved, and refinancing of existing Bridge Bank debt.
The credit agreement, which has an initial term of three years, provides up to $20 million in total term loan capital including an initial tranche of $15 million, with immediate availability of $10 million and an additional $5 million with the timely acceptance by U.S. FDA of the company’s planned De Novo application for DrugSorb-ATR and certain liquidity requirements. A second tranche of $5 million would be available in the second half of 2025 with FDA marketing clearance for DrugSorb-ATM to help support an anticipated launch of the therapy in the United States.
“We are pleased to enter into this relationship with Avenue Capital Group to strengthen our financial position, expand our working capital, and to enable us to confidently pursue our regulatory and commercialization objectives,” Kathleen Bloch, chief financial officer of CytoSorbents, said. “We believe the planned marketing applications of DrugSorb-ATR to U.S. FDA and Health Canada this summer and the prospects of opening an estimated total addressable market in the U.S. and Canada in excess of $0.5 billion if approved, represents a potential watershed event for the company. As an FDA Breakthrough Device, DrugSorb-ATR aims to reduce serious bleeding complications in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery on the blockbuster blood-thinning drug Brilinta (ticagrelor, AstraZeneca) – a major unmet medical need. The full $20 million is expected to help fund the company through both Health Canada and U.S. FDA regulatory decisions.”
“We have followed the CytoSorbents story for many years and all of the exciting work the company is doing to help save lives in critical care and cardiac surgery,” Chad Norman, senior portfolio manager at Avenue Capital Group, said. “We are pleased to now partner with CytoSorbents to support the international growth of CytoSorb and other products, and importantly help fund the U.S. and Canadian initiatives with DrugSorb-ATR. Many of us unfortunately know family, friends, and colleagues on blood thinners and the high bleeding risk they have, should they need surgery. We see a great opportunity to be part of a solution to address this major problem.”
