Catheter infection treatment startup Pursuit Vascular, based in Blaine, Minnesota, announced Monday that it has raised more than $750,000 in a bridge financing round in the first quarter. The company was looking to raise $1.03 million, according to a regulatory filing, but $750,000 “was all that we needed” said President and CEO Doug Killion, in an email.
The bridge round was raised from angels and early stage venture capital firm Omphalos Venture Partners in Minneapolis, he said.
Now the company is eyeing a $2 million series A round. That money will be used to win regulatory clearance and have a limited launch of its ClearGuard technology, whose first application will target hemodialysis patients prone to catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), next year. It will also help to prepare for a post-marketing clinical study. Killion said he hopes to enroll patients immediately once he receives clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In the past, Killion had said that CRBSIs can pose a deadly risk to dialysis patients who already have compromised renal functions.
Another company in Minnesota is targeting hemodialysis patients and the goal is to reduce catheter infections. Except that Phraxis wants to replace the standard hemodialysis treatment with an implanted device. Like Pursuit Vascular, Phraxis is also looking to win a 510(k) clearance from the FDA. The company is trying to raise $5 million.
The issue of controlling infections is a priority at hospitals since the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services have stopped reimbursing them for preventable infections acquired at hospitals. A 2002 report from the Centers for Disease Control Prevention estimates that a single incident of CRBSI can cost up to $56,000 to treat, including pharmacy charges, catheter changes, lab tests and an additional day in the ICU.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
[Photo Credit: Salvatore Vuono]
