Vesteck aims to turn aortic aneurysm surgery into a one-and-done procedure

Technical.ly

27-06-2025

When it comes to treating potentially deadly aortic aneurysms, medicine has come a long way. One Philly biotech startup aims to make those outcomes even better.
Minimally invasive surgery on an aortic aneurysm — an enlargement of the heart's main artery that can cause a fatal rupture if left untreated — requires intensive follow-up care, with additional surgeries often required after two to five years.
The likelihood of having to repeat the surgery is a reality that patients have to live with, but it doesn't have to be that way, said Joseph Rafferty, CEO and cofounder of Vesteck, a company that has developed a procedure that can reinforce aortic aneurysm surgery with high-tech stitches called endosutures.
'Physicians tell us, if it was their mom and dad having a procedure like this, they would want a device like this to make sure that they're not going to have to come back for a second procedure,' Rafferty told Technical.ly.
Using a simple catheter-based approach, Vesteck addresses this critical challenge in treating aortic aneurysms with a developing technology that has the potential to help patients with other medical conditions.
Proud Philly roots
West Chester-based Vesteck is a global startup with three founders from different parts of the world. But at its core, it's a Philly company.
'I'm a Philly guy, Delaware County, Temple [University] grad,' Rafferty said. 'We have very strong and very, very proud roots in Philadelphia.'
Those Philly roots, he said, included a strong work ethic.
'I'm second-oldest of nine, and my wife is seven of 11, so we all understand the concept of 'pumping the pump,'' Rafferty said. 'If you don't pump the pump, money doesn't come out. So we all learned at a very young age that you need to go work and make your money.'
When he attended Temple in the 1970s, Rafferty majored in communications and journalism.
'I was a writer with the concept that in whatever business you go into, if you can articulate your thoughts appropriately, it's amazing how many different businesses that skill set can translate to,' he said.
After graduating in 1979, Rafferty soon found himself in the booming medical device industry, where he was surrounded by 'the best and the brightest' physicians and surgeons making an impact on patients' lives.
'You can make a very nice living at it if you're willing to make the sacrifices,' Rafferty said. '[It involved] lots of late nights delivering devices.'
By the late 2010s, Rafferty knew the medical device industry well and was looking for the next big thing.
Through a friend, he met John Edoga, a general surgeon from Columbia University.
'Dr. Edoga shared with me the concept that is Vesteck,' Rafferty said. 'But more importantly, he shared with me the challenges in the aortic repair space.'
Along with a third cofounder, French cardiothoracic surgeon Thierry Richard, Vesteck was founded in 2019.
Securing the post-surgical health of aortic aneurysm patients
At the center of Vesteck's biotechnology is its proprietary endosuture called Suture-Tight. Endosutures allow surgeons to stitch a patient internally using an endoscope, a less invasive surgical tool that enters the patient's body through the groin rather than cutting the patient open.
After the initial grafting surgery on the aortic aneurysm, a surgeon using Vesteck's technology re-enters and 'stitches' the grafts in place by attaching the Suture-Tight endosutures.
These endosutures, which resemble tiny hoop earrings, are made of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy known for its shape memory.
Since modern coronary stents are commonly made of nitinol, the FDA and physicians are already very familiar with its properties. Nitinol stents are crimped down to be tiny enough to deliver into an artery, then, once released, they return to their original size, propping the artery open. The same property makes it possible to insert Vesteck's sutures.
The extra layer of stability after the suturing procedure can potentially improve physical outcomes and psychological ones, too, Rafferty said.
Without sutures, 'it's kind of like the sword of Damocles hanging over your head, because you think you got cured, but you really didn't,' he said.
Progress and setbacks, as funding has become scarce
Vesteck isn't available for clinical use yet, but the team has used the Suture-Tight procedure on 14 patients so far in Europe, Canada and Australia.
'Our first human patients are doing very, very well,' Rafferty said. 'The aneurysm sacs are stable or shrinking, and there's no migration, no leaks, no suture fractures.'
The procedure is so simple, he said, that one of the first to use the device on a patient, a physician in Australia, successfully stitched four sutures in four minutes. For physicians with endovascular skills, it's a relatively easy procedure with little learning curve.
In the US, the Vesteck team has met with the FDA six times and is ready to start the 100-patient clinical trial that would move the technology closer to being used to treat aortic aneurysm patients. Just one thing is holding them back: funding.
' Venture capital funding is way down since COVID,' Rafferty said. 'Part of that is because of the economy. For the last four years, the IPO market has been all but stagnant.'
As a result, many medical device companies can't do much more than wait for money to come back into the venture capital market.
'We're kind of on hold,' Rafferty said.
On the local level, several Philadelphia investors have been as enthusiastic about Vesteck as Rafferty is about Philadelphia. BioAdvance, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Grays Ferry Capital and Robin Hood Ventures are all supporters.
Still, a company like Vesteck needs big-time, global-scale funding to move forward.
'You get to a point where you need to bring in some of these larger investors,' he said, 'and that's what we're trying to do.'
Beyond aortic aneurysms
Despite the funding roadblocks, Rafferty is optimistic about Vesteck and its potential impact on the medical world.
Physicians who have seen the technology have suggested other potential use cases, including as part of heart and vein procedures.
'A big part of our culture is keeping an open mind and understanding that different patient populations around the world have different needs, and [asking] how can we adapt this technology to suit those needs,' Rafferty said. 'That's one of the things we've learned: stay interested and stay humble.'