This MedTech Startup Just Raised $22.3M to Make Artificial Blood Vessels Disappear

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-28

What if you could implant an artificial blood vessel that eventually becomes part of your own body? That's the big idea behind Xeltis, a Dutch-US MedTech company that just secured an additional $22.3 million in funding to advance its groundbreaking technology. ### The Funding Round The new capital comes from a mix of new and existing investors. Horizon 3 Healthcare led the round, with support from the European Innovation Council, Invest-NL, VI Partners, EQT Life Sciences, DaVita, and other current shareholders. This brings Xeltis's total funding to over $75 million in the past year, including a $54 million raise from the European Investment Bank earlier in 2025. ### What Xeltis Actually Does Founded in 2006, Xeltis develops implants that help your body grow its own healthy tissue to replace damaged or diseased blood vessels. The company's proprietary Restorex platform uses a special polymer implant that acts like a scaffold. Over time, your body's cells take over, transforming that scaffold into living tissue. The polymer itself gradually dissolves, leaving behind a brand-new, fully functional vessel. Think of it like a temporary bridge that, once the road is built, disappears completely. No foreign material stays in your body long-term. ### The Lead Product: aXess Xeltis's most advanced product is aXess, an implantable blood vessel designed for hemodialysis patients. These are people whose kidneys have failed and need regular dialysis to filter their blood. Currently, they rely on synthetic grafts or their own veins, but both have major drawbacks. Synthetic grafts can get infected or clot, and using your own veins often means multiple surgeries. aXess has already received CE Mark approval in Europe and is now being rolled out commercially. The company recently treated its first commercial patient in Germany. Meanwhile, the US pivotal trial is more than 50% enrolled, and Xeltis is preparing for FDA submission. ### Why This Matters - **Fewer repeat interventions**: Because the implant becomes living tissue, it's less likely to fail over time. - **Better quality of life**: Patients spend less time in the hospital and more time living normally. - **Scalable technology**: The same platform could be used for coronary artery bypass grafts and peripheral artery disease. ### What the CEO Says Eliane Schutte, Xeltis's CEO, put it simply: "This fundraising enables us to bring our groundbreaking vascular access technology to more European patients and advance our US pivotal trial. We're preparing for US market launch and continuing our other clinical programs." ### Beyond Hemodialysis Xeltis isn't stopping at dialysis. The company has two other programs in the pipeline: XABG for coronary artery bypass grafts and XPAD for peripheral artery disease. Both conditions affect millions of people worldwide. If the technology works as well in those applications as it does for dialysis, it could be a game-changer for cardiovascular medicine. Investors seem to agree. Matt McNamara from Horizon 3 Healthcare said the data so far is "highly compelling" and shows aXess can "transform the hemodialysis access landscape." ### What's Next With this new funding, Xeltis plans to: - Finalize the US pivotal trial for aXess - Prepare for FDA submission and US market launch - Scale up European commercial rollout - Expand manufacturing capabilities - Advance the XABG and XPAD programs The company is betting that letting your body do the work is the best path forward. And with $22.3 million in fresh capital, they're in a strong position to prove it.