University of Chicago spinoff Flow Medical Inc. is finalizing its design of a multi-function catheter to diagnose and treat venous thromboembolic disease – boosted by a $1 million private investment to commercialize the device.
Researchers have gained new insights into physiological mechanisms that protect against blood clotting in immobilized individuals by studying animals that stay immobile for a good chunk of the year at a time: hibernating bears. “As a clinician, if you think about immobility, you always think about thrombosis,” Tobias Petzold told BioWorld. But his team’s work, which was published in the April 13, 2023, issue of Science, demonstrated that “immobility can trigger antithrombotic mechanisms.”
Wall Street has stabilized enough after the recent pandemic-induced volatility to offer enthusiastic support to a med tech generating significant revenue that already reached breakeven during the first quarter. Inari Medical Inc. priced its IPO at the top of an already upwardly revised range to raise $156 million. It sold 8.2 million shares at $19, above the prior range of $17 to $18. Shares of the Irvine, Calif.-based company (NASDAQ:NARI) then more than doubled to hit about $43 on its first day of trading.
Sky Medical Technology Ltd. has cinched FDA clearance for a third indication for its geko device, a noninvasive, battery-powered wearable technology designed to increase blood flow in the deep veins of the lower legs. The Daresbury, U.K.-based company already had the agency's blessing for geko's use immediately after surgery to stimulate the calf muscles to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) and preoperative reduction of edema. Now the FDA has granted geko 510(k) clearance for stimulation of calf muscles to curb venous thrombosis in nonsurgical patients at risk of VTE.