Sanovas Expands Headquarters and Opens Manufacturing Site

Sanovas, a manufacturer of micro-surgical devices for diagnosing and treating cancer and chronic diseases, is expandeding its corporate headquarters and opening a manufacturing site in Sausalito, Calif. The facility initially will manufacture components of Sanovas’ technology ahead of filing for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and ultimately would serve to produce Sanovas’ commercial products.

“Sanovas’ headquarters is a natural choice for our manufacturing site, as it allows us to maintain the highest level of quality control over the most proprietary components of our technology platform,” CEO Larry Gerrans said. “These facilities will provide us with the ability to attract the very best talent from within the life-sciences community right here in the Bay Area.”

Privately held Sanovas’ micro-surgical technology platform is designed to give surgeons the ability to access and understand previously inaccessible areas of the body, enabling them to diagnose, treat and deliver drug and immune therapies to small-diameter anatomy. The company’s micro-surgical technology uses the world’s smallest surgical camera to visualize and treat difficult-to-reach areas of the body, according to a press release. The camera is connected to the end of a steerable catheter that is further used to deliver additional tools for collecting tissue samples, analyzing and removing tumors and delivering drug and immune therapies to targeted locations within the deepest reaches of the body.

Sanovas plans to file a 510(K) submission with the FDA within the next six months for approval of its technology, and if approved would begin full-scale manufacturing by the end of the year. Initially, Sanovas intends to market its micro-surgical tools for the treatment of lung cancer and pulmonary disease.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women worldwide, and nearly 400,000 people in the United States die from lung disease each year, according to the American Lung Association.

“With nearly 1 in 7 American’s currently suffering from a chronic pulmonary disease and another 96 million at risk there is an urgent humanitarian need for these next-generation solutions,” Gerrans said.