Dutch suturing tech company Mellon Medical said today that it has raised €6 million (equivalent to 
about $6.6 million) to advance its Switch instrument.
Mellon Medical officials boast that their Switch single use precision-suturing instrument enables surgeons to suture tubular and layered structures about twice as fast as conventional methods. Reduced clamp time for many cardiovascular procedures equals reduced complications risk, better patient outcomes and reduced costs, according to the company.
“By collaborating with medical specialists, industrial designers and ergonomic experts in the development of the Switch, Mellon has been able to reinvent suturing, bringing suturing technology into the 21st century,” Dr. Mark Vrancken Peeters, a vascular surgeon and Mellon’s founder and CMO, said in a news release.
Dutch life sciences and health investor BioGeneration Partners (BGV) led the funding round. Other investors included former Allergan CEO and private investor David Pyott, as well as existing shareholders Dutch Thuja Capital, Innovatie – en Energiefonds Gelderland, managed by Oost NL, and Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (Brabant Development Co., BOM). BGV partner Oskar Slotboom, a partner at BGV, will join Mellon’s supervisory board.
Mellon plans to introduce an 8 cm Switch model, with an initial focus on vascular indications including carotid artery surgery, kidney transplant and peripheral bypass surgery.
The initial focus is on vascular surgery, but Mellon officials think the Switch tech could have uses in general surgery, microsurgery, urology, gynecology, coronary artery bypass surgery, neurosurgery and more.
