Micell Technologies, a developer of biomedical materials, has closed on $7 million in new venture financing.
Investors include Invemed Catalyst Fund and GE Pension Plan, according to Micell executives.
Arthur Benvenuto, a longtime executive in the life science field and chief executive officer of Micell, sees a large opportunity for Micell.
“You have a $6 billion market that has people looking for different solutions,” he said.
For example, Micell’s coatings could overcome some problems related to stents such as thrombosis, or clotting.
The news comes less than three months after Micell announced advances in coating materials for drug-eluting stents and medical devices.
Micell has developed a surface modification technology for use in stents that the company has said provides “unique capabilities for modifying and coating bio-medical devices with advanced polymers and drugs.”
Invemed Catalyst Fund, an investor in Micell dating back to the days when Micell’s emphasis was on CO2 cleaning technology, and the GE Pension Plan participated in the new funding. Archibald Cox, a board member, also participated, Benvenuto said.
The money will be used to help Micell move toward animal studies involving its technology.
“We’re moving ahead with some additional laboratory data as well as getting some preliminary animal data before we move into larger-scale preclinical animal studies,” Benvenuto said.
