A Medical Device Daily

Ventaira Pharmaceuticals (Columbus, Ohio), a company developing a device for improved delivery of drugs to the respiratory system, reported that it has completed a private placement of Series C preferred stock totaling $13.5 million.

Ventaira says it is focused on the development of a best-in-class, next-generation inhalation device using its electrohydrodynamic (EHD) aerosolization and formulation platforms.

"This investment will allow us to quickly advance our technology toward commercialization," said Leslie Williams, president and CEO of Ventaira. "With this additional funding, we will complete development of our commercial inhalation device, advance the clinical program for our lead asthma compound and expand the formulation capabilities of our EHD technology platform."

TL Ventures led the financing which included a new investor, Battelle Ventures, along with the existing investors Battelle, Safeguard Scientific, PA Early Stage Partners, Fletcher Spaght Ventures, Reservoir Venture Partners and James Richardson & Sons.

Protein Polymer Technologies (PPT; San Diego) reported that a small group of institutional and accredited investors committed somewhat more than $4.2 million for the purchase of 12,728,269 shares of the company's common stock, together with warrants for the purchase of roughly 6,364,132 shares of common stock.

The common stock was priced at 33 cents a share. Of the committed capital, about $1.2 million represents the conversion of short-term promissory notes previously issued by the company.

Purchasers of the common stock also received warrants to purchase common stock equal to 50% of the number of shares purchased. The warrants are exercisable at any time at a price of 50 cents a share and expire about 48 months after the close of the offering.

PPT is focused on developing products to improve medical and surgical outcomes. The company bills itself as "a pioneer in protein design and synthesis, creating an extensive portfolio of biomaterials for use in the development of bioactive devices."

CardioTech International (Wilmington, Massachusetts) reported that CorNova has completed its Series A financing of $3 million. CardioTech said the financing "enables CorNova to continue executing its business plan." It said that CorNova has made progress toward the planned international launch of its metallic nano-coated coronary stent system, set for later this year.

CardioTech in collaboration with Implant Sciences (Wakefield, Massachusetts) previously made an investment in CorNova, with each company holding a 19% ownership interest in CorNova and having no obligations to make any capital outlays for the operation of CorNova or any future equity contributions.

CorNova has developed a coronary bare stent system employing a design using an advanced base metal alloy. The stent is then coated with a biocompatible, radio-opaque metallic nano-coating using Implant Sciences' MicroFusion technology. The combination of an alloy base plus a radio-opaque nano-coating, "will represent one of the most advanced stent systems available," CorNova said. It puts the international market for coronary stents at more than $2 billion.

Anticipating product launch, CorNova is establishing offices in Munich, Germany, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, as distribution headquarters for Europe and Latin America. CorNova GmbH, its German subsidiary, will manufacture any CorNova products.

Michael Szycher, PhD, chairman and CEO of CardioTech, said, "We intend to use our patented ChronoFlex polyurethane as a depot for the drug, since stents containing smooth muscle-inhibiting drugs have been shown to reduce restenosis."

CardioTech has operations in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Minnesota, and Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Its wound dressings address a $600 million annual market. It also is developing a synthetic coronary artery bypass graft addressing a potential market of $1.5 billion annually.