Apreo Health announced today that it closed an oversubscribed $130 million Series B financing round to support its Breathe airway scaffold.
New investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Norwest led the financing, with new investors F-Prime and Intuitive Ventures also participating. Returning investors Lightstone Ventures and Santé Ventures also took part.
Menlo Park, California-based Apreo Health plans to use funds primarily to support its BREATHE-3 trial evaluating the scaffold device. Breathe, a bronchoscopically delivered, self-expanding implant aims to relieve emphysema-related hyperinflation by releasing trapped air in the lungs.
Apreo emerged from stealth to unveil its emphysema treatment in May. A week later, it shared promising first-in-human six-month clinical data supporting the use of the airway scaffold device.
The company also plans to use funds to support regulatory activities related to the trial and early commercialization efforts for Breathe.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from this world-class syndicate of investors and their desire to partner to redefine the standard of care in emphysema,” said Karun Naga, CEO of Apreo Health. “More than three million Americans are affected by severe emphysema, yet fewer than 1% receive interventional treatment—a stark reflection of limitations of currently available treatments. Our Breathe scaffold offers a fundamentally different approach: a novel implant designed to gently release air trapped in affected lungs, with potential for much broader adoption.
“This financing marks a significant milestone that enables us to complete a robustly designed pivotal trial and continue advancing toward expanded access for this severely underserved population.”
