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Laminate Medical receives $12 million in additional investment for VasQ device
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Israeli company Laminate Medical Technologies has secured $12 million to support development of its vascular support device. The investment round included Asahi Kasei, a Japanese company that makes hemodialyzers.
The VasQ, not yet approved in the U.S., is designed to provide external support of a patient’s vasculature to reduce the risks for arteriovenous fistula failure. It regulates flow by “constraining and shaping optimal geometrical parameters of the fistula” and “reinforces and shields the vulnerable perianastomotic vein against high pressure, wall tension, and flow,” according to the website.
Laminate has begun clinical trials for the VasQ in the U.S., working with 16 hospitals, the company said in a press release. The device has CE approval in Europe.
"After the success of treatments in Europe, including application of the device in hundreds of patients in Germany and other European countries, we are now preparing to enter the American market,” Tammy Gilon, co-founder and CEO of Laminate, said in a press release. "We have completed the infrastructure for this and are working in cooperation with leading hospitals across the USA to carry out the necessary clinical trials for FDA approval."
The current round of additional funding, which brings the total outside investment to $24 million, is “an important expression of faith on the part of the existing investors, and a significant boost from investors with experience in a variety of fields, who understand the need for the solution and the answer that it provides for dialysis patients,” Gilon said. “Furthermore, the fact that Asahi Kasei Medical has joined us as an investor in the company gives us an important advantage for a future entry into the Japanese market."
Takeshi Himeno, president of Asahi Kasei Medical, said in the release, “I believe VasQ has a high potential to become the standard of care for vascular access surgery.”