Urovalve Inc.

Article preview from Start-Up - February 1, 2011

Compared with conventional urinary catheters, which require an external collection bag or an intermittent catheter inserted multiple times daily, the Surinate Bladder Management system from Urovalve Inc. could significantly improve the plight of men suffering from acute or chronic urinary retention. The device is designed to empower patients to manage their condition discreetly, thanks to a magnetic valve that passively closes the urethra to prevent urine leakage and can be opened with a handheld external magnet to empty the bladder.

Urovalve Inc.

Article preview from Start-Up - February 1, 2011

Compared with conventional urinary catheters such as a Foley catheter, which require an external collection bag or an intermittent catheter inserted multiple times daily, the Surinate Bladder Management system from start-up Urovalve Inc. could significantly improve the plight of men suffering from acute or chronic urinary retention. The device is designed to empower patients to manage their condition discreetly, thanks to a proprietary magnetic valve that is placed approximately halfway down the urethra during typical catheter insertion to passively close the urethra and prevent urine leakage. The patient can then place a handheld external magnet near his scrotum to open the valve in the catheter and drain his bladder. Once the bladder is empty, the external magnet is removed from the scrotum to allow the bladder to fill up normally.

Incorporated in 2005, Urovalve also is developing the FolEase, a novel Foley catheter with an integrated stiffening system for easier insertion of a thin, soft silicone Foley catheter in either males or females who require continuous urine drainage for urinary retention or urinary incontinence. "This product will be the most comfortable Foley catheter on the market and will be associated with the least incidence of health complications or irritation," asserts company president and CEO Harvey Homan. "Health care costs will also likely be reduced because the FolEase catheter does not require a urologist or the need for more expensive, complex catheter systems in some difficult insertion situations."

Candidates for the Surinate Bladder Management system include select men in the US with prostatic hyperplasia (a large prostate), prostate cancer, and chronic urinary retention (e.g., spinal cord injury patients), representing in excess of one million people. In addition, there are over 90 million Foley catheters inserted each year, of which roughly 10% have problems with insertion. "By 2015, we envision potential revenues from our FolEase catheter of about $45 million and from our Surinate Bladder Management system about $60 million," Homan says.

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