WhiteSwell Secures $30 Million Series B Financing and Appoints New CEO to Advance Novel ADHF Therapy
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Irish medical device company WhiteSwell recently secured $30 million in Series B financing. The round was led by RA Capital Management, with participation from InCube Ventures.
WhiteSwell is a startup developing novel therapies for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). To further its commercialization efforts, the company recently completed a Series B financing round and appointed Eamon Brady, an experienced medical device entrepreneur, as its Chief Executive Officer.
Currently, WhiteSwell is developing a novel technology for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). This technology aims to identify an alternative pathway for eliminating fluid accumulation resulting from the heart’s inability to pump effectively, thereby helping ADHF patients avoid hospitalization.
Generally, patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) are hospitalized due to dyspnea, body pain, or fatigue caused by fluid retention. This often marks the beginning of a cycle of readmission and disease deterioration, with half of ADHF patients being readmitted within six months after discharge.
The current standard treatment involves the use of pharmacological diuretics to eliminate excess fluid from the vascular system via the kidneys and bladder. However, this approach not only fails to fully resolve the issue but also leads to worsening renal function.
What sets WhiteSwell apart is its targeting of the lymphatic system to drain fluid from the body’s interstitial tissues into the bloodstream. The company claims that this approach can more effectively clear congestive fluid accumulation without causing the kidney-related issues associated with conventional treatments.
Targeting the lymphatic system to drain fluid from the body’s interstitial tissue into the bloodstream. (Image source: WhiteSwell official website)
WhiteSwell’s catheter-based system is designed to treat acute hospital patients by enhancing the lymphatic system’s fluid clearance capacity. “We have no competitors in terms of devices, as no one else is currently using this approach to treat ADHF, a patient population that is in urgent need of new therapies,” Brady said in an interview.
Brady stated that the injection of new capital will provide the company with greater development possibilities over the next three years. Reportedly, the funds from this financing round will be used to manufacture WhiteSwell’s second-generation device and conduct clinical validation. WhiteSwell currently has 15 employees and is expected to double its workforce next year.
In the United States, nearly 2 million people are hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) each year, a figure twice that of stroke hospitalizations. Studies indicate that up to 50% of ADHF patients are discharged without complete resolution of congestion, which is one of the highest risk factors for readmission and even death.
Currently, feasibility studies of WhiteSwell are approximately one-quarter complete at institutions such as The Ohio State University. “I am pleased that WhiteSwell can completely resolve congestion while preserving renal function; it can be described as a ‘milestone therapy’ for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF),” said William Abraham, Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University, in a statement. “I was drawn to WhiteSwell’s innovative approach targeting the lymphatic system, which plays a crucial role in fluid management by transporting interstitial fluid into the vascular system.”
Before joining WhiteSwell, Brady was a co-founder of the medical device company Neuvari, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2017. Subsequently, Neuvari’s medical device, EmboTrap, received FDA approval after its premarket submission via the 510(k) pathway demonstrated its clot-removal capabilities.
In recent years, premarket notification submissions under 510(k) have been subjected to increasingly stringent scrutiny, and the FDA is currently undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of its approval process. Brady stated that as a seasoned medical device executive, one must learn to adapt to regulatory changes rather than resist them in order to build an efficient enterprise within the healthcare industry.
“I have been in this industry for nearly 30 years. Overall, the regulatory burden on medical device companies has been increasing rather than decreasing. However, I am not someone who tries to oppose new regulations; I accept them for good reason, as my responsibility is to find ways to meet these healthcare expectations,” said Brady.
RA Capital Management, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Boston, USA, is a venture capital firm primarily investing in the life sciences and drug development sectors.
The company is composed of professionals with training and experience in biology, chemistry, and medicine, who possess extensive industry and business development expertise. In 2002, RA Capital Management began investing, primarily focusing on companies with promising technologies or products.
InCube Ventures is a specialized fund focused on breakthrough medical innovations. Since its establishment in 2008, the firm has funded healthcare innovation companies in areas such as atrial fibrillation, epilepsy, gastrointestinal surgery, iron-deficiency anemia, hemorrhagic stroke, and metabolic disorders.
Headquartered in California, InCube Ventures aims to identify, nurture, and develop companies with the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes.
Neuravi is a company dedicated to improving the treatment of acute stroke, developing and selling innovative medical devices for neurointerventional therapy. Currently, the company has successfully developed a medical device for removing thrombi from the cerebral arteries of stroke patients.
Since its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2007, Neuravi has treated more than 5,000 patients, becoming a significant component of Johnson & Johnson’s growth in the healthcare sector.