Now equipped with U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance to market its first product, University of Michigan spinoff Tangent Medical Technologies has raised $8.6 million, presumably to take its closed-system IV device to market.
The financing came from nine investors in an equity offering this month, the company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document. President and CEO Jeff Williams couldn’t be reached by email today but has said previously that the device would hit the market late this year.
Tangent redesigned the peripheral intravenous catheter system, giving it additional features to make it stay more securely and comfortably on a patient, prevent blood splatters and avoid patient exposure to pathogens. The NovaCath won FDA clearance in September.
The vascular access device market in the United States is poised to grow slowly as healthcare providers increasingly adopt safety PIVCs over traditional ones to prevent needle-stick injuries and patient infections, according to Millennium Research Group. Other closed-system IV systems already on the market include the Nexiva by BD Medical and Introcan Safety by B. Braun.
Tangent, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was incorporated in 2010 as a spinoff of the University of Michigan’s Medical Innovation Center. The three co-founders were fellows at the Medical Innovation Center when they observed issues with traditional catheters and came up with the concept of the NovaCath.
After hiring Williams, who previously led three medical-related companies through exits, last year, it closed a $4.5 million series A from Arboretum Ventures, Flagship Ventures, Osage Ventures and several angel investors. Tangent plans to introduce the product outside of the U.S. in 2013.
[Photo from Tangent Medical Technologies]
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
