CytoPherx pulled down one of the largest venture capital rounds in recent memory, raising $34 million from the likes of
Early Stage Partners,
ONSET Ventures and
Capital Midwest Fund.
David Weaver, chairman & founder of
Great Lakes Angels, a group of about a dozen angel investors based in Bloomfield Hills, first reaction to the amount of money raised by CytoPherx was "Wow, that's a lot of money." He said a seed round that big will give the start-up a lot of flexibility to commercialize its product.
"That gives them room to breathe," Weaver says. "That's a big deal to have that much money around."
The Ann Arbor-based bio-tech start-up plans to use the funds to complete its clinical trials and gain FDA approval for its anti-inflammatory therapy for acute kidney injuries. CytoPherx's therapy can be used to ease the pain of intensive care unit patients with kidney injuries, such as Renal failure, suffering from extreme inflammation. It is also expected to help patients recover and live more full-filling lives.
CytoPherx spun out of the University of Michigan in 2007. It has raised several million in seed capital before this latest financing round, including a $5 million raise in 2010. The start-up has its eyes on the more than 2.7 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. diagnosed with acute renal failure. Approximately 160,000 receive Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy, which CytoPherx hopes to make it technology a part of, representing what it claims is a multi-billion dollar potential market.
Source: CytoPherx and David Weaver, chairman & founder of Great Lakes Angels
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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