The Las Vegas-based startup is seeking $10 million in a Series A funding round, Retriever Medical co-founder, President and CEO Ben Bobo said in an interview.
The company has already raised $3.5 million and is nearing a design freeze on the technology. The team plans to start verification and validation this year and to submit for FDA 510(k) clearance in 2026, ultimately seeking indications for treating pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.
The Series A round would get Retriever Medical through product development, FDA submission and the launch of an investigational device exemption (IDE) study.
Bobo said an eventual acquisition by Medtronic, Becton Dickinson, Abbott or Boston Scientific is the ultimate goal, but an IPO is also possible.
Retriever Medical does not yet have the backing of a major medical device manufacturer or institutional investors, Bobo said, “although I think that’s going to change.”
“It’s a hot space,” he said. “Last year, Inari ended the year at $475 million in revenue. This year, they’re projecting $575 million, which is about a 22% year-over-year annual growth rate, and they’ve only hit about 25% of the available market, meaning 75% is medical management, TPA. The rest is this evolving mechanical thrombectomy.”
“It’s really nascent — tremendous upside,” he continued. “I think we’re getting in at the right time with what we believe is the next-generation device.”
Retriever Medical is developing a thrombectomy system that pairs dual-basket, drug-eluting mechanical thrombectomy catheters with aspiration to disrupt and remove clots. The company is also developing a blood filter for reinfusion to replace blood removed from a patient during aspiration.
Retriever Medical is building its system off standard medical-grade materials and components while working with Resonetics to get through Phase 2 of development.
From there, Retriever Medical will transition to catheter design, development and manufacturing firm Midwest Interventional Systems.
“The reason we picked those guys is that they’re great with catheters, and in Phase 3 they’ll be a great partner,” Bobo said. “But they also do manufacturing at scale, and they do it for large strategics.”
So far, Retriever Medical’s 37 investors include friends, family and high-net-worth individuals.
“We had some percentage invest in Series Seed 1, which was a 20% discount on 6% interest, and then we had a Series Seed 2, which is a 15% discount 5% interest, and then I opened up a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) round,” Bobo said. “But what I’m finding is that the VCs are now looking at this and they’ll turn it into an equity round. … We have some significant inbound interest from VCs.”
Read more about Retriever Medical’s system at Medical Design & Outsourcing.
