Semprus BioSciences secures $8 Million in series A financing

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 15 December 2008, 22:00 IST
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California: Semprus BioSciences, a privately held biomedical company, has secured $8 million in Series A financing co-led by 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures. Semprus is the developer of an innovative technology platform aimed at reducing medical device complications in areas of infections, thrombus, restenosis and bone integration. The company had previously raised $2.5 million in seed financing from private investors and 5AM Ventures. The Semprus platform adds a permanent, non-leaching surface architecture to medical devices, providing long-term antimicrobial and anti-thrombogenic solutions. The versatility of the Semprus platform enables it to work with medical device surfaces ranging from plastics (such as catheters) to metals (such as orthopedic implants). The proceeds of this financing will be used to advance Semprus' product candidates. "Patients suffer and the cost to hospitals and insurers is escalating due to a dramatic increase in infections and other preventable events. Our aim is to alleviate this pain by becoming the industry standard for reducing complications and healthcare costs associated with medical devices," said David L. Lucchino, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Semprus. "Semprus' approach is to make permanent modifications to medical device surfaces in order to address the significant issue of device related infections and other device related complications," said Dr. Scott Rocklage, Chairman of Semprus BioSciences and a Managing Partner at 5AM Ventures. "The Semprus platform will do this while playing a revolutionary role in enhancing the long-term efficacy and safety of a broad range of medical devices." Semprus, originally incorporated as SteriCoat Corporation, got its start by winning entrepreneurial competitions at MIT, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge Universities in 2006.