SafeHeal, a Paris-based devicemaker that specializes in digestive surgery, snapped up $7.4 million (€6 million) in series A funding that it will use to continue clinical and regulatory efforts toward the commercial launch of its Colovac device.
Sofinnova, which founded a medtech accelerator from which SafeHeal got its start in 2015 with backing by MD Start, led the financing round.
SafeHeal’s Colovac is designed to avoid the need for diverting ostomy in patients undergoing colectomy. The device is a flexible bypass sheath intended to reduce any contact of fecal content with the colorectal anastomotic site, following colorectal surgery that is either open or laparoscopic.
“This investment enables us to execute our aggressive clinical and regulatory strategy, launch commercial operations once CE mark will be received and also continue investing in our R&D,” Karl Blohm, SafeHeal’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We are currently recruiting patients in our First-in-Human clinical trial in France and are planning to extend the enrollment to hospitals in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.”
SafeHeal began a CE mark study for the Colovac device in January. The first two procedures using the device were performed at the Institute of Image-Guided Surgery in Strasbourg in collaboration with the CHRU Strasbourg. So far, the Colovac has proved successful on seven patients, the company said.