Sapheon, which is preparing to launch a clinical trial of its proposed treatment for varicose veins, has raised nearly $20 million in a new round of equity financing.

The privately held medical device technology firm is based in Morrisville and also has an office in Ireland.

The identity of the investors was not disclosed, although the firm says it received backing from “current and new accredited investors.”

According to an SEC filing made a year ago, Sapheon sought to raise $27 million and at that time had closed on some $3 million. The firm’s address was listed as Santa Rosa, Calif. 

Sapheon has already received approval to use its VenaSeal Sapheon Closure System in Europe. According to the company, more than 1,000 patients have already been treated in Europe and Hong Kong. The VenaSeal System includes a proprietary medical adhesive to close the saphenous vein, eliminating the need for surgery, ablation, sedatives, anesthesia, and the use of harsh chemicals, according to Sapheon. 

Sapheonous refers to two veins in the leg.

The new funding will be used for a study in the U.S. that has now enrolled 242 pateints at 10 sites across the U.S.

“We are fortunate to have attracted knowledgeable, sophisticated investors who recognize the potential for VenaSeal to become the future standard of care for a large and growing U.S. patient population of venous reflux sufferers,” said Sapheon Chief Executive Officer Don Crawford in a statement.

“We are also fortunate to have successfully recruited leading U.S. physicians with large, active vein practices to participate as clinical investigators in our pivotal study,” he added. “Achieving full enrollment in the study in six months speaks to the high degree of interest and enthusiasm our investigators have in the potential of VenaSeal to provide a novel, efficacious solution to venous reflux disease [varicose veins].”

Dr. Rod Raabe is the founder and chief medical officer of the company. He also is a member of Inland Imaging, an 82-physician group with over 600 employees and annual revenues exceeding $150 million. According to his biography, Raabe “has over 20 years of conducting medical research and has participated in several NIH-sponsored and other industry initiated clinical trials.” He also has invented several medical devices and has two patent applications pending.

Sapheon is focused on treatment of vascular disease.

Venous reflux disease required more than 550,000 surgical procedures last year, according to Sapheon.