ALung planning European launch of artificial lung system

ALung Technologies is targeting a $10 million series B round of investment for the European launch of its respiratory assistance system that removes carbon dioxide from a patient’s blood while directly infusing the blood with oxygen.

The company is already most of the way there, having just closed on $6.6 million and having received commitments for $9 million, CEO Peter DeComo said.

Pittsburgh-based ALung recently completed a German pilot clinical trial of around 20 patients. The company has filed for the CE Mark, which would give it the right to begin European commercialization, and expects to launch its HemoLung product in the first or second quarter. ALung is planning a “slow, controlled launch,” DeComo said.

The series B round has been funded thus far primarily by existing investors, including Birchmere Ventures, a Pittsburgh-based early stage venture capital firm. “The series B is indicative of the current investors’ confidence in the company and its progress,” DeComo said.

The HemoLung delivers oxygen directly into the blood using a catheter into the femoral or jugular vein, similar to kidney dialysis. The technology is intended for patients with acute respiratory failure and could allow such patients to avoid having to breathe through a tube or ventilator.

In October 2010, ALung closed a $14 million series A round, led by Pittsburgh’s Eagle Ventures.

ALung is currently in discussions with U.S. authorities to determine the proper regulatory path for the HemoLung — specifically whether it’ll proceed through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) or Premarket Approval Application (PMA) process, DeComo said.

 

Copyright 2013 MedCity News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

---