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| Sequana's alfapump system--Courtesy of Sequana |
Swiss medical device startup Sequana Medical secured $23 million in Series C funds it will use to support global expansion of its products and begin clinical trials in the U.S.
The company also said in a release that Rudy Dekeyser, managing partner at Life Science Partner's Health Economics Fund, has been named to the board, and Stephen McGill was named vice president of sales and marketing. The round was led by Life Science Partners and NeoMed Management. BioMedInvest, VI Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund and Capricorn Venture Partners also participated.
Based in Zug, Switzerland, Sequana Medical produces the alfapump system, which is an implantable battery-powered pump that routes excess fluids (ascites) from the abdomen to the bladder, where it then passes naturally from the body. Refractory ascites is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis of the liver and certain cancers, affecting more than 100,000 patients a year in Europe and the U.S., the company said.
"Funds will be used for global commercial expansion, initiation of U.S. clinical studies and application of the alfapump technology to new clinical markets," Noel Johnson, CEO of Sequana Medical, said. "Fluid overload in ascites and other indications is an area of significant unmet clinical need and represents more than a $1 billion market opportunity for Sequana Medical's proprietary technology."
The alfapump system received a CE mark from European regulators in 2011, and its PIONEER study was published in 2013 in the Journal of Hepatology.
-read the release