PregnanTech

The PregnanTech device allows women with healthy pregnancies to deliver at term.

Obstetricians are at a loss regarding how to prevent spontaneous (unplanned) preterm birth in women with a healthy pregnancy. Treatments such as medications, stitching the cervix (cerclage), and pessaries are unsuccessful.

PregnanTech is developing the OBSPRING, a novel device that is positioned around the uterine cervix and behaves like a shock absorber. It allows transient shortening and dilation of the cervix during contractions while restoring the cervix to its initial state when contractions subside. The device

prevents preterm birth and allows women with healthy pregnancies to reach delivery at term.

OBSPRING maintains the natural resistant of the cervix thus preventing preterm birth. The small, disposable device is inserted by the physician during an outpatient visit and removed at term.

The OBSPRING has been endorsed by one of the leading obstetricians in Europe.

IP

National phase

Preterm birth (defined as delivery between 23 and 36 weeks of pregnancy) is the leading cause of newborn death and illness. Worldwide, 15 million babies a year are born preterm. One million will die and another million will suffer from substantial life-long complications: breathing disorders, feeding disorders or neural disabilities, blindness, hearing loss, neurodevelopmental delays or cerebral palsy.

Babies born prematurely pose a huge financial burden to the families and to health care systems. In the United States —

• costs associated with preterm births surpass $26 billion annually,
• the cost of a preterm delivery is $51,000 compared to $9,000 for a normal delivery,
• expenses during the first year of life reach upward of $49,000 for preterm babies versus $4,950 for babies born at term, and
• nearly 50% of infant hospitalization costs are attributed to preterm babies.

Between 6% and 12% of babies are born preterm; 15% of pregnancies are at risk for spontaneous preterm birth. The Company estimates a market potential for OBSPRING at more than $2 billion in developed countries alone.