Mercator MedSystems Boosts D-Series Funding by $3.2M to Advance Micro-Infusion Platforms

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that medical technology company Mercator MedSystems announced an increase of over $3 million to its $11 million Series D financing round launched last year. According to the company’s filing with regulators on June 13, it raised approximately $3.2 million in additional funds, bringing the total amount of its Series D financing to $14.3 million.

Mercator MedSystems, based in California, specializes in the treatment of peripheral artery disease. The company’s Bullfrog® and Blowfish® micro-infusion devices are the first systems capable of safely delivering drugs, genes, and cells into deep tissues through vascular or airway walls without the need for major surgery.

Mercator MedSystems’ MercatorBullfrog® device has received FDA 510(k) marketing clearance and CE certification.

The Mercator Bullfrog® Micro-Infusion Device is a system designed to deliver therapeutic agents directly into the adventitial tissue through the vessel wall. The Bullfrog device features a micro-needle with an occlusion balloon and is compatible with 0.014-inch guidewires and 5–7 Fr sheaths. The occlusion balloon provides a protective shield for the micro-needle, allowing it to safely traverse the vasculature to reach target vessels with diameters of 2–8 mm. Once the micro-needle is positioned at the desired injection site, the physician can inflate the occlusion balloon to 2 atmospheres using saline and radiopaque contrast agent. This stabilizes the delivery system and enables the micro-needle to penetrate the vessel wall. This low-pressure inflation causes no trauma to the vessel wall. Additionally, physicians can monitor drug delivery in real time using fluoroscopic imaging.

The U.S. FDA has approved the use of the Mercator Bullfrog® Micro-Infusion Device for delivering diagnostic and therapeutic agents to the vessel wall, perivascular space, or lumen in selected regions of peripheral and coronary vessels. The European CE mark authorizes the use of the Mercator Bullfrog® Micro-Infusion Device for infusing diagnostic and therapeutic agents into the vessel wall, perivascular space, or lumen in selected regions of peripheral and coronary vessels, and it is also indicated for the infusion of locally acting anti-inflammatory agents. The Mercator Bullfrog® Micro-Infusion Device is indicated for the delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce vascular inflammation.

Mercator MedSystems has also developed the Blowfish® transbronchial micro-infusion device, which can deliver precise doses of medication to the airway walls.

The Blowfish® Transbronchial Micro-Infusion Catheter is an innovative bronchial-adventitial drug delivery system designed for interventional pulmonary procedures. To deliver therapeutic agents to the bronchial wall and adventitia, the Blowfish® device advances a closed balloon through the bronchus to a predetermined infusion site (e.g., a bronchial lesion), where it is inflated to gently appose the airway wall. The balloon then expands to deploy micro-needles, which penetrate the bronchial epithelium and enter the adventitia. These micro-needles directly deliver therapeutic agents to the adventitial region at sites of injury or stenosis. The Blowfish® Transbronchial Micro-Infusion Catheter has received FDA 510(k) marketing clearance and CE marking for the delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents to selected primary and secondary regions of the bronchus and adventitia.

(Compiled by Zhang Jing)