Pulmonx, maker of an airway valve implant for patients with serious lung disease, has secured $65 million in new equity financing for its global commercialization efforts through an oversubscribed round led by the Hong Kong-based Ally Bridge Group.
The company’s minimally invasive treatment, the Zephyr Valve, was approved by the FDA last year for patients with severe emphysema, a progressive form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
About the size of a pencil eraser, the valve is planted within the bronchial passages of the lung to stop air from entering the diseased areas of the organ, while letting air and fluids flow out.
By reducing the overall volume of the lung and keeping air from getting trapped within damaged alveoli, the device reduces hyperinflation and helps patients breathe easier. An average of four Zephyr valves are placed during each procedure, without the need for any incisions, the company said in a statement.
RELATED: FDA approves Pulmonx’s severe emphysema device
The product is also marketed in Europe, Australia and Asia, including China, with more than 15,000 patients treated since 2007. Ally Bridge was joined by new backers RTW Investments, ArrowMark Partners and Driehaus Capital Management, plus some of the company’s returning investors.
Pulmonx, based in Redwood City, California, and Neuchâtel, Switzerland, also brought on Derrick Sung, Ph.D., to serve as its chief financial officer.
RELATED: Ally Bridge, LifeTech partner to invest in medtech, provide route into China
Sung was previously executive vice president of strategy and corporate development at heart monitor manufacturer iRhythm Technologies, where he helped lead the company through its 2016 IPO. Before that, he was a senior research analyst covering the medical device sector for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, and was a director of marketing and business development for Boston Scientific’s neuromodulation division.