The company's AlucentNVS technology is designed to open vessels and keep them open without using permanent implants
AlucentNVS technology is a combination drug-device therapy. (Credit: Chokniti Khongchum from Pixabay)
Alucent Biomedical has raised $35m in Series B financing to support the clinical trials of its Alucent Natural Vascular Scaffolding (AlucentNVS) Vessel Restoration System with Photoactivated Linking.
The company’s AlucentNVS technology is a combination drug-device therapy developed to help the body in naturally opening and maintaining arterial patency.
Led by a large multinational strategic investor, the funding was also joined by another new investor, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures.
With the latest funding, the company takes its total capital raise to approximately $60m.
Alucent Biomedical’s founder Avera Research Institute, an arm of Avera Health, has also participated in the latest Series B financing.
Fresenius Medical Care Ventures head Al Wiegman said: “Alucent Biomedical is a welcome addition to our portfolio.
“The company’s first-rate management team is developing a revolutionary technology that has the potential to dramatically improve treatment for the millions of people who suffer from PAD. We believe AlucentNVS stands to completely reshape how physicians think about treating vascular conditions.”
Clinical trials to evaluate Alucent’s technology to treat PAD of the lower extremities
Alucent will utilise the proceeds from the latest funding round to support the completion of two clinical trials that include ACTIVATE I first-in-human trial and the larger ACTIVATE II trial.
The ACTIVATE II trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the AlucentNVS Vessel Restoration System with Photoactivated Linking.
The system is designed to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower extremities.
The vessel restoration system features AlucentNVS technology that is designed to open vessels and keep them open. The system avoids the use of permanent implants, such as stents.
AlucentNVS is designed to be performed in concert with standard balloon angioplasty technique.
Alucent has started enrolment for the ACTIVATE I clinical trial, which will include up to 15 subjects across up to five US research sites.
The company plans to commence the ACTIVATE II IDE study in mid-2021.
In January this year, Alucent secured an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed with a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate its NVS technology.