Shockwave Medical Gains $40 Million in Funding for Lithoplasty System

May 19, 2015—Shockwave Medical announced $40 million in funding, co-led by returning investor Sofinnova Partners and new investor Venrock, with the participation of RA Capital, Deerfield, Sectoral Asset Management, Ally Bridge Group, and two undisclosed large-cap strategic investors. According to the company, the financing will be used for development of the company’s Lithoplasty balloon catheters in peripheral, coronary, and aortic valve applications.

According to Shockwave Medical, Lithoplasty is a novel balloon-based technology that utilizes integrated lithotripsy, a pulsatile mechanical energy commonly used to break up kidney stones, to disrupt both superficial and deep calcium and normalize vessel wall compliance prior to low-pressure balloon dilatation. Lithoplasty is designed to be naturally gentle to soft tissue while remaining hard on calcium, the tissue that limits vessel expansion and the effectiveness of current technologies.

On May 11, the company 6-month follow-up results from the DISRUPT PAD trial were reported at the 37th Annual Charing Cross 2015 Symposium in London, United Kingdom, by coprincipal investigator Andrew Holden, MBChB. The trial is evaluating patients with calcified vascular stenosis of the superficial femoral artery and popliteal artery treated with the Lithoplasty system. Earlier data were presented by Prof. Marianne Brodmann at VIVA 2014. 

The Shockwave Lithoplasty system gained CE Mark approval in January 2015.