DURHAM – A Durham startup focusing on improving outcomes from prostate cancer surgery now has $6.6 million in its tool chest to further advance its research and development.
Levee Medical on Tuesday announced the fundraising and says it intends to advance development of what is called the Voro Urologic Scaffold, a bioresorbable post-prostatectomy implant.
“We are extremely pleased to secure this financing with strong support from our investors. It reflects their confidence in our ability to address a significant unmet need for patients recovering from radical prostatectomy,” said Bruce Choi, the firm’s founder and chief technoloy officer, in the announcement. “This positive momentum provides the company with a solid foundation as we move towards achieving important development and clinical milestones.”
How Levee aims to help – in its own words:
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men with 1 in 8 diagnosed in their lifetime. The primary type of surgery for prostate cancer is radical prostatectomy. However, there are risks associated with this surgery and nearly all men will experience urinary incontinence following the procedure. This will last a few weeks for many, but up to 15% of patients experience chronic incontinence. Patients are faced with less-than-ideal solutions including pads, catheters, or additional surgery. Current treatments for post-prostatectomy incontinence are invasive, inconvenient, and inadequate.
The Voro Urologic Scaffold is the first and only bioresorbable device designed to be placed during the prostatectomy procedure for the treatment of urinary incontinence. It is designed to reduce the stress on the urinary sphincter by managing the geometry of the bladder neck and maintaining urethral length, which is the best predictor of post-op incontinence.
