Cambridge, MA-based Semprus Biosciences has added $18 million in equity financing to its coffers to support technology that helps improve the long-term performance of devices. GlaxoSmithKline's venture capital arm SR One, Foundation Medical Partners, 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures all participated in the Series B round.
The company, which was spun out of the famed Bob Langer's MIT lab in 2007, is developing its Semprus SustainTechnology to improve the surfaces of medical devices, leading the fewer complications for patients. "Semprus' technology elegantly reduces the attachment of bacteria and blood components on the surfaces of medical devices, which we believe can also lower healthcare costs," explained SR One Partner Simeon George in a statement. "We see the platform expanding to next-generation products such as novel drug delivery surfaces, with the potential for improved clinical benefits across the medical device spectrum."
According to Xconomy, Semprus' first project is to creat anti-microbial surfaces for catheters to reduce complications with the devices. The paper adds that in the future the technology could be applied to orthopedic joint implants, hernia meshes, and pacemakers. GSK's involvement in the financing, notes Xconomy scribe Gregory Huang, indicates that there could be a drug delivery application for Semprus' work.
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