Japan’s Kaneka buys Israeli medical device startup in $100 millon deal
Endostream Medical, the developer of an implant device for the treatment of brain aneurysms, will operate as Kaneka’s first Israeli R&D hub
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
Japanese conglomerate Kaneka Corp. has inked an agreement to buy Israeli startup Endostream Medical, a medical device developer for the treatment of brain aneurysms, in a deal valued at about $100 million.
Following the acquisition, the operations of the Or Akiva-based medical device startup will remain in Israel and serve as Kaneka’s research & development center. Kaneka plans to keep Endostream’s 12 employees and hire additional staff to jointly develop devices for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases that affect the blood flow to the brain, such as aneurysms and strokes.
Founded in 2015 by Danel Mayer, CEO, and Alon May, VP of Technology, Endostream has developed an implant device called Nautilus for the treatment of brain aneurysms. The device has a spiraling design made of nitinol, or nickel titanium, wire covered with a platinum‐based alloy coil sleeve to block and divert blood flow to the aneurysm.
The device, which the startup says has been successfully implanted in hundreds of patients around the world, received regulatory approval in Europe in November 2024. Regulatory approval and launch in the US are expected in the spring of 2026, and in Japan one year later.
To date Endostream has raised about $5 million from venture capital fund Peregrine Ventures alongside a number of prominent American neurosurgeons.
“By combining Kaneka’s manufacturing and Endostream’s technology, we will jointly develop new medical devices, mainly for cerebrovascular treatment, in addition to the Nautilus device for aneurysm treatment currently under development,” Kaneka said in a statment. “We aim to achieve sales of over 20 billion yen ($126 million) by 2030.”
Established in 1948, Kaneka Corp. is a developer and manufacturer of devices for the treatment of cardiac, peripheral vascular, and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as medical devices used in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases. The manufacturer operates out of Osaka and Tokyo in Japan, and employs about 11,500 people.
An aneurysm occurs when part of the wall of an artery weakens, allowing it to balloon out or widen abnormally. It can be potentially life-threatening if it bursts or ruptures, which causes bleeding inside the body. An estimated 1 in 50 people will develop an aneurysm in the blood vessels in the brain during their lifetime, according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation .
Most of these aneurysms are discovered when they are already causing cerebral bleeding, and need to be treated with blood thinners, which aggravate the bleeding. Endostream said that its technology eliminates the use of blood thinners and anticoagulants drugs that help prevent blood clots and is therefore more effective and safer for patients.
Peregrine, founded in 2001 by brother entrepreneurs Eyal Lifschitz and Boaz Lifschitz, manages about $600 million in assets and has invested in in numerous companies in the medtech field, including medical devices, biotech, pharma, esthetics, and digital health. In 2024, Peregrine made 15 investments in healthtech companies.
