CoapTech Raises $7 Million in Series B Funding Led by Hunniwell Lake Ventures

Baltimore, MD, 2020-Aug-28 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — CoapTech LLC (Baltimore, MD), a leading medical device start-up pioneering the world’s first and only ultrasound-based feeding tube placement system, announced today the closing of a Series B investment of $7 million led by Palo Alto-based medical device venture capital firm Hunniwell Lake Ventures. The financing will be used to fund CoapTech’s commercialization of its FDA-cleared PUMA-G System.

By simplifying gastrostomy procedures to the point where they can be conducted at the patient’s bedside with ultrasound, hospitals using PUMA-G benefit by freeing up surgical suites and personnel resources for COVID and other clinical priorities, minimizing cross-contamination, and improving efficiencies in care.

CoapTech was founded by critical care physician Dr. Steven Tropello and clinical innovation researcher Howard Carolan, to reduce unnecessary delays, harm, and costs for feeding tube placement, a vital therapy for millions of patients each year around the world.

Howard Carolan, CEO and Co-Founder, states: “We have been receiving fantastic feedback from hospitals in our initial launch program, which are using the PUMA-G System to revolutionize feeding tube placement. By using ultrasound at the patient bedside, rather than the conventional approach of orchestrating expensive and inefficient consults, critical care physicians are completing these procedures in minutes, on the same shift a feeding tube is first indicated. We’re seeing early indications those efficiencies result in patients leaving the ICU sooner, which saves hospitals many thousands of dollars per admission. A substantial portion of this new funding is from physicians who have seen the device and believe it can become the new default method for feeding tube placement.”

Dr. Steven Tropello elaborates, “the PUMA-G System is proving itself ready for standard-of-care adoption for safe and timely gastrostomy tube placement. It is also proving a powerful approach in the fight against COVID, by completely eliminating transport of patients, team members, and reprocessed tools throughout the hospital in favor of a sterile, disposable, bedside solution. I am also very excited about other clinical applications of the PUMA platform we are developing and aim to have for patients in the near future.”

This Series B investment was led by Hunniwell Lake Ventures, a Palo Alto-based medical device venture capital firm.

Daniel Teo, Managing Partner at Hunniwell Lake Ventures, further states “Coaptech’s PUMA System has the potential to transform gastrostomy and many other surgical procedures by allowing them to be performed using ultrasound at the bedside, in hospitals, ambulatory centers, skilled nursing facilities, and LTACHs (Long-term Acute Care Hospitals). This also benefits patients by bringing the procedure closer to the Point-of-Demand (PoD) and giving them more options with a larger community of medical providers capable of performing the procedure.

Via EPR Network
More Healthcare press releases

LIDBREE™ receives marketing authorization in the United Kingdom

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF., U.S.A. / BUDAPEST / STOCKHOLM, 5-Aug-2020 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — Palette Life Sciences AB (‘Palette’) with Gedeon Richter Plc. (‘Richter’), today announced that as a part of a decentralised regulatory procedure including thirty European Union Economic Area member states, Palette and Richter received national marketing authorization for LIDBREE™ in the United Kingdom (UK). The product is a novel, proprietary thermo gelling intrauterine formulation that can provide significant pain relief during common gynecological procedures.

LIDBREE’s marketing authorization is based on compelling data from clinical trials and investigations of sensory innervation in the reproductive area. In a pivotal clinical trial, LIDBREE treatment was associated with a significant reduction of pain and discomfort in women undergoing gynecological interventions.¹

“Our research group has detected pain nerves superficially throughout the uterus, which enable the use of local pain relief in many gynecological procedures such as insertion of an intrauterine device and sampling biopsies from the cervix and/or from the uterus – procedures that are currently routinely performed today without pain relief. LIDBREE is a novel gel containing the local anesthetic lidocaine which adheres to the mucosal tissue upon application to provide excellent analgesic effect”, says Gunvor Ekman-Ordeberg, MD PhD Professor at Karolinska Institute and founder of the LIDBREE program. “The gratification of observing the culmination of over 40 years of research into clinical practice via a new, simple, and effective treatment is a great privilege to share with all of my colleagues.”

In October 2017, Richter and Palette signed an agreement to commercialise LIDBREE, a novel innovative proprietary pain relief pharmaceutical formulation, in Europe and in certain other markets.

“We are very pleased with the approval of LIDBREE in the UK, it is a great accomplishment from everyone involved.  This is an important milestone and allows us to address a significant unmet medical need in women’s health. We look forward to supporting LIDBREE’s product launch through our partner Gedeon Richter and pursuing additional markets, such as the U.S., in collaboration with future regional partners.” says Helena Jansson, Managing Director at Palette Life Sciences AB.

“We’ve been expecting this regulatory development and we are looking forward to successfully introduce LIDBREE to all of the territories covered by our agreement in order to further improve the quality of life of women experiencing pain during their gynaecological interventions,” stated Tibor Horváth, Commercial Director of Gedeon Richter Plc.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Palette Life Sciences unveils an online resource aimed at paediatric urologists, parents and caregivers in the UK dealing with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF., U.S.A. / STOCKHOLM SWEDEN, 4-Aug-2020 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — Palette Life Sciences, a fully integrated global life sciences company dedicated to improving patient outcomes, today announced the launch of Deflux.com/UK as part of its global expansion. Deflux.com/UK is a best-in-class online resource developed specifically for healthcare practitioners in the United Kingdom, as well as parents and caregivers managing children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). VUR, sometimes referred to as urinary or bladder reflux, is a serious paediatric urinary condition in which urine flows from the bladder through one or both ureters toward the kidneys.

Deflux.com/UK features important information about VUR, including symptoms, causes, risk factors and treatment options, such as Deflux®. Comprised of hyaluronic acid (HA) and dextranomer polysaccharides to form a gel, Deflux is a minimally invasive biocomopatible treatment for VUR. Endoscopic treatment with Deflux takes about 15 minutes in a day procedure setting, and generally allows the child to go back to normal activities the next day.

Deflux.com/UK also provides physicians with access to the Deflux Learning Center, a leading global education platform that features information and training for paediatric urologists and their peers who treat VUR as well as other paediatric urology conditions. The Deflux Learning Center includes clinical articles, educational videos and webinars, brochures, downloadable tools and The PedSpace podcast series, created for and presented by paediatric urology healthcare professionals.

“Deflux is an effective, minimally-invasive treatment option that many caregivers simply aren’t aware of,” said Dr. Marie-Klaire Farrugia, Consultant Paediatric Urologist and Clinical Director for Paediatric Surgery at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. “My personal long-term experience with Deflux has proven its effectiveness and safety in reducing VUR and preventing UTI recurrence, thus avoiding use of long-term antibiotics. It is my hope that the new website initiative, which includes helpful resources for both physicians and caregivers, will help raise awareness and utilisation of this treatment option.”

“The entire Palette commercial team is excited to launch Deflux.com/UK, which we believe will help elevate the standard of care for VUR patients in the UK,” said Rich Low, Head of Marketing, Palette Life Sciences. “Deflux.com/UK will serve as a truly valuable resource for caregivers, providing critical information to paediatric urology healthcare professionals through the Deflux Learning Center, and to caregivers, connecting them to highly-trained specialists who provide high quality care.”

SOURCE: EuropaWire