A Medical Device Daily

Veran Medical Technologies (St. Louis), a device start-up, reported securing $4.75 million in venture capital and private financing that it will use, it said, to drive adoption of its IG4 delivery system for minimally invasive biopsy and ablation of cancer.

Prolog Ventures led the round, joined by Advantage Capital Partners and existing private investors. Veran also relocated its headquarters from Nashville, Tennessee, to St. Louis in order, it said, to build relationships with the local medical community.

When diagnosed at Stage 1, lung cancer survival rates approach 90%. If diagnosed beyond Stage 1, lung cancer survival rates fall to below 15%, the company noted. And the company noted that cancer screening will increase the already overwhelming demand for biopsies needed for complete diagnosis.

The Veran IG4 system and instruments are designed to enable efficient targeting of very small lesions. The system aims to give clinicians the confidence to treat patients earlier in the disease cycle without subjecting patients to unnecessary complication risk, Veran said, and "aims to deliver throughput efficiency that hospitals can capitalize on. Finally, the IG4 products hope to move cancer treatment earlier in the disease cycle, which is far more economical and beneficial than expensive later stage surgeries and medicines."

"Incidental screening" is occurring at a high rate due to the 7 million chest CT scans performed annually in the U.S. as patients are examined for other co-morbidities, it said, "leading to detection of potential cancer much earlier in the disease cycle. Tools are needed to encourage early treatment through safe, efficient biopsies and resection or ablation."

"There is no doubt that early detection and treatment is the key to cancer care," said Greg Johnson, managing director at Prolog. "Veran's products intend to fill a very critical need in medicine today. We believe that Veran's products will be instrumental in improving the efficacy of therapies for certain diseases such as lung cancer."

Veran is a privately held image-guided device company developing systems for minimally invasive delivery of oncology therapies.