Xlumena has CE mark approval in the EU for its AXIOS gastrointestinal stent and delivery system--but the endoscopic devices haven't yet cleared the FDA for sale in the U.S. To that end, the Mountain View, CA, company has secured a fresh infusion of capital--$25 million--led by new investor Third Point LLC, the New York hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb.
Existing investors Prism VentureWorks, Charter Life Sciences, Ascent Biomedical Ventures and Aperture Venture Partners came back to participate, according to a news release from Xlumena Tuesday morning. Third Point's Jason Hong will represent the hedge fund on Xlumena's board of directors.
AXIOS is an anastomotic stent--designed to establish a surgical connection between two structures in the body, in this case the gastrointestinal tract and the common bile duct, gallbladder or pseudocyst. It's been used in Europe to treat acute cholecystitis, biliary inflammation related to bile-duct stones or strictures and pancreatic pseudocysts. A variation called HOT AXIOS incorporates cautery. Both are available in the EU.
- read the press release