Ablative Solutions bags $77M to complete hypertension device trials

Ablative Solutions raised $77 million from the likes of Gilde Healthcare and BioStar Ventures to bankroll clinical trials of its minimally invasive treatment for uncontrolled hypertension. 

Specifically, the new capital will support clinical trials for Ablative’s alcohol-mediated renal denervation technology in support of regulatory filings in the U.S. and Europe, the company said in a statement. The procedure is performed using the company’s Peregrine system and is intended to reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension for whom antihypertensive drugs do not work. 

The Peregrine System Kit targets sympathetic nerves that run to and from the kidneys along renal arteries and play a key role in the regulation of blood pressure. The system delivers small doses of dehydrated alcohol to the space outside the renal artery to block overactive signaling of the sympathetic nerves. It does so via the Peregrine System Infusion Catheter, which has FDA clearance to infuse diagnostic and therapeutic agents to the perivascular space that surrounds blood vessels. The system is being studied both in patients taking antihypertensive medication and in those who are not. 

Michigan Accelerator Fund, Novus Biotechnology and other individual investors joined Gilde and BioStar in the series D round. 

"Hypertension creates a significant burden on the healthcare system, increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular events and stroke," said Geoff Pardo of Gilde Healthcare in the statement. "We see tremendous potential for Ablative Solutions’ approach and believe the team has a solid plan for building the clinical data through the TARGET BP clinical program."  

Ablative Solutions isn’t the only player using renal denervation to attack high blood pressure. Last July, Otsuka announced it would acquire ReCor Medical and its ultrasound ablation system. ReCor’s device is designed to treat hypertension the same way Ablative’s does—by downregulating the activity of the sympathetic nerves.

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