Breathe Technologies secures $23M in financing

Breathe Technologies, a manufacturer of therapies for people with respiratory conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep apnea, has had a busy week. It announced Tuesday that it had secured $23 million in Series C financing. The financing was led by DAG Ventures and included Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Delphi Ventures, Synergy Partners International and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation.

"The Series C financing will fund commercialization of Breathe's ultralight, mobile ventilation system for the millions of people worldwide with breathing challenges, such as COPD," says Gregory Kapust, president and CEO of Breathe Technologies, in a statement.

The company also announced that John Miclot had joined as chairman of the board. Miclot became president and CEO of Respironics in 2003 and led the company's $5.2 billion sale to Philips in March 2008. He subsequently served as CEO of Philips Home Healthcare Solutions and is currently an executive-in-residence at Warburg Pincus, serving on the boards of Wright Medical Group, ev3 and Dentsply.

The FDA also recently gave Breathe 510(k) clearance for a ventilator mask to help people with respiratory problems like emphysema, bronchitis and COPD, the San Francisco Business Times reports. However, the company does not plan to start selling the ventilator immediately, according to a spokeswoman.

- check out the company's release
- read the story from the San Francisco Business Times