Tryton Medical said today that’s made an initial closing on a $20 million private equity round from existing and new investors.

Durham, N.C.-based Tryton said the round including prior backers RiverVest Venture Partners and 3×5 Special Opportunity Fund, plus new investor Canepa Advanced Healthcare Fund and an unnamed investor.

"The company will use these proceeds to complete enrollment in the Tryton [investigational device exemption] extended access registry, to support our U.S. Food & Drug Administration submission, and to develop the left main market opportunity with the CE approved left main stent indication for our Tryton side branch stent," president & CEO Shawn McCarthy said in prepared remarks. "Tryton Medical’s differentiated technology addresses the challenges of bifurcation lesions, which affect nearly ⅓ of patients undergoing a PCI procedure. The Tryton side branch stent has now been used to treat more than 10,000 patients around the world, and we’re positioned to be the 1st and only coronary stent approved for use in treating bifurcation lesions in the United States."

Tryton in May 2013 won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its eponymous stent in large vessels (a CE Mark indication for left main coronary artery disease followed in February of this year).

"The world of stenting is known very well, but it really is for very straightforward lesions. Our effort is to bring to our physicians the same level of confidence and control for the bifurcations and more complex lesions," McCarthy told MassDevice.com when the company won its 1st CE Mark. "The organization is built for bifurcations – we’re completely focused on that space. We are the 1st IDE-approved approved by the FDA in bifurcation with a dedicated stent. My guess is that we have a 2-to-3-year lead on anyone else. There are no other approved IDEs we’re aware of."

The $20 million financing included the addition of Canepa’s Alejandro Sanchez to the Tryton board, according to a press release.