Avinger said it has raised $13.5 million to back clinical testing of an intravascular imaging catheter to help treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) that relies on radiation-free light within the device itself.
The California device company noted that new and existing investors participated in the round, and a spokesperson confirmed the amount late afternoon on Dec. 12. Previous funding rounds have drawn investors including PDL BioPharma ($PDLI), among others.
Executives plan to use the new funding to back a clinical trial of Pantheris, which Avinger bills as the first peripheral atherectomy catheter to use intravascular imaging that relies on optical coherence tomography. That advance is designed to give physicians live video-rate images of the inside of the artery in real time. Pantheris already has a CE mark to remove plaque from affected arteries in PAD patients, and Avinger said it will begin its U.S. trial "in the near future."
Founder and CEO John Simpson uses the phrase "lumivascular procedure" to describe the company's technology and approach for treating PAD. Ocelot--the company's first device with this technique--has been on the market since late 2012 and helps open blocked arteries in the legs.
Avinger most recently raised up to $40 million in mezzanine financing in April 2013, a $33 million Series D round in July 2012, a $22.5 million Series C in January 2012 and a $25 million financing in 2011. Avinger launched in 2007.
- read the release
- here's the Form D regulatory filing
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the precise amount Avinger raised in its latest funding round.