Alucent Biomedical, a privately held medical technology company founded to transform the way vascular disease is treated, has closed a $35 million Series B financing round led by a large multinational strategic investor and joined by another new investor, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures. Alucent was founded by the Avera Research Institute, an arm of Avera Health, which also contributed to the financing. Including the Series B funding, the company has raised approximately $60 million to date.
 
The funding will be used to support the completion of two clinical trials: the currently enrolling ACTIVATE I first-in-human trial; and the larger ACTIVATE II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the company’s revolutionary Alucent Natural Vascular Scaffolding (AlucentNVS) Vessel Restoration System with Photoactivated Linking, the company’s intended commercial product.
 
The Alucent NVS Vessel Restoration System with Photoactivated Linking is designed to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower extremities, a painful and debilitating condition affecting over 200 million people worldwide. The system is designed to use AlucentNVS technology to open vessels and keep them open without the use of permanent implants, such as stents. Sustained, improved blood flow may result in pain relief, limb preservation, a reduction in reinterventions and an improved quality of life for patients.
 
“Alucent Biomedical is a welcome addition to our portfolio,” said Al Wiegman, head of Fresenius Medical Care Ventures. “The company’s first-rate management team is developing a revolutionary technology that has the potential to dramatically improve treatment for the millions of people who suffer from PAD. We believe AlucentNVS stands to completely reshape how physicians think about treating vascular conditions.”
 
Pre-clinical testing of AlucentNVS in animal studies has shown acute and long-term safety and patency without the pro-inflammatory and mechanical risks of placing a rigid foreign implant into the blood vessel.
 
ACTIVATE I has begun enrollment and will include up to 15 subjects across up to five U.S. research sites. The ACTIVATE II IDE study is planned for mid-2021 for up to 100 participants at up to 15 medical centers in the United States.
 
“We thank all of our investors for their enthusiasm and unwavering support. The Series B funding will allow us to continue to explore the potential of AlucentNVS to improve long-term clinical outcomes and enhanced quality of life for those with vascular disease,” said Myles Greenberg, M.D., CEO of Alucent.
 
AlucentNVS is performed in concert with standard balloon angioplasty technique. Standard angioplasty stretches the vessel wall and causes breakage of the natural links within the native collagen and elastin fibers that provides structural stability to the artery. During the interventional procedure, a light-activated, novel small molecule medicine is delivered to the wall of the diseased artery, where it diffuses into the tissue. A light fiber is illuminated, activating the drug. The drug then flexibly re-links the native collagen and elastin, major structural components of the vessel wall. This linking restores the structure and function of the collagen and elastin, creating a natural scaffold, or stent, that securely holds the vessel open. Because there is no rigid foreign material, the arterial wall has the potential to retain its natural functionality and flexibility, and avoid the complications of permanent stents.