University of Michigan medtech spin-off Tangent Medical Technologies is now accepting commercial orders of the firm’s NovaCath IV catheter following four years of development.
The Ann Arbor-based spin-off said it will begin deliveries of its catheter in the third quarter of the year, beginning next month.
To date, Tangent has attracted $13.1m in venture funding to develop its catheter, which won US Food and Drug Administration approval last year. It received $4.5m in 2011 led by venture firms Arboretum Ventures and Flagship Ventures, with participation by Osage Ventures. Then in 2012, the firm attracted a further $8.6m, also led by Arboretum and Flagship.
Tangent believes it is perfectly placed with its innovative catheter technology to enter into the US IV market, estimated to be worth $1.3bn.
Curtis Bloch, vice president of sales and marketing at Tangent, said: “The last few products launched in this space were largely unsuccessful because clinicians questioned the benefits over existing products. NovaCath is an extreme makeover of IV catheters. We haven’t seen a design change this radical in 50 years. Every once in a while, a product out-performs an entire segment and NovaCath is that disruptive.”
