Startup ValenTx has attracted nearly $10.3 million from 32 investors, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
The Maple Grove, Minn. company is developing a removable gastric bypass device as an alternative to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. It raised $10,271,050 in the round begun July 18, 2018.
The ValenTx endoluminal bypass therapy mimics the attributes of a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and is implanted through a non-surgical, endoscopic procedure, according to the company’s website. This procedure does not require gastric stapling or permanent changes to the patient’s anatomy. The device is removable, replaceable and designed so that the physician could change the therapeutic profile, thereby optimizing the treatment toward the individual patient’s needs.
ValenTx’s goal is to treat obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The company’s board includes med tech veterans Paul LaViolette, formerly of Boston Scientific and now a Boston venture capitalist; and former Medtronic executive vice president Bob Griffin.
ValenTx has conducted a series of clinical studies of the therapy, which has not received FDA approval. Studies are ongoing, according to the company, which did not reveal how it will use the money in its latest fundraising round.