It’s been a busy couple of days for Entellus Medical Inc., which hired a new chief executive and launched a new product, the XprESS, to treat chronic sinusitis.
Brian Farley, who has served on the company’s board since 2008 and previously led VNUS Medical Technologies Inc., takes over the top job from Entellus co-founder Tom Ressemann, according to a press release. Ressemann will stay on as Entellus’ chief business development officer.
The company also launched the Xpress device, which uses a balloon catheter to dilate both the frontal and sphenoid sinus spaces during surgery for chronic sinusitis. The sphenoid sinuses are small cavities located deep within the skull. The device features a shape-able tip and allows for ear, nose and throat surgeons to enlarge narrowed sinus openings by inflating the balloon through the catheter. The XprESS won 510(k) clearance from the Food & Drug Administration in February, according to a statement from Maple Grove, Minnesota-based Entellus.
“We believe our XprESS device nicely complements the surgeon’s traditional set of sinus surgery tools by enlarging narrowed sinus pathways with less tissue disruption,” Farley said.
He joined VNUS, which developed a catheter-based treatment for venous insufficiency, in 1995 as its first employee. During his time as CEO, the company went public in 2004 and was acquired last year for $440 million by medical-products giant Covidien plc (NYSE:COV).
Entellus also makes the FinESS sinus treatment is designed to relieve the need for antibiotics or invasive surgery to treat chronic sinusitis. The company says its treatment reduces a patient’s recovery time, because it doesn’t require removing bone or sinus tissue and causes minimal bleeding. The procedure is performed by inserting a balloon catheter into a patient’s nasal cavity through a tiny incision under the lip, then expanding the balloon in the passageway and draining excess mucus from the sinus passage.
In November, Entellus closed a $30 million funding round led by new investor Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and supported by existing investors Split Rock Partners and SV Life Sciences. The company has raised $57 million overall.
