Aurenar announced today that it closed an oversubscribed seed financing round with proceeds totaling $5.7 million.
The Go-Red for Women Venture Fund, part of American Heart Association Ventures, and Solas BioVentures co-led the round. BJC Health and Kaleida Capital also participated.
St. Louis-based Aurenar plans to use proceeds to continue working toward pivotal trials for its neuromodulation technology. That includes final device development, verification and validation testing, plus regulatory submissions to the FDA.
Aurenar develops the V-Link noninvasive neuromodulation system for the reduction of cerebral vasospasm in in adults with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).
The method driving V-Link is called transauricular vagus nerve stimulation. Aurenar designed it to deliver low-energy electrical stimulation to a branch of the vagus nerve through the outer ear. It helps to regulate the body’s inflammatory response. This plays a key role in the secondary brain injury that can occur after a hemorrhagic stroke and other illnesses.
With a simple, wireless design, V-Link enables neuro-intensive care physicians and ICU nursing staff to use the device efficiently. The company won FDA breakthrough device designation for V-Link last month.
Dr. Eric Leuthardt, Aurenar founder and CEO and a professor of neurosurgery at WashU Medicine, said:
“This seed close marks a pivotal moment for Aurenar. With the support of the Go Red for Women Venture Fund, Solas BioVentures, and our broader investor group, we are positioned to advance from early-stage neurotechnology to a pivotal-trial-ready company. Every dollar of this round is committed to milestones that help us improve outcomes for patients in the most critical moments of their care.”
