Bluegrass Vascular Technologies Gets $4.5 Million in Funding and Moves to San Antonio

Medical technology startup Bluegrass Vascular Technologies has closed on $4.5 million in funding.

Targeted Technology Fund II, a San Antonio-based venture capital fund that invests in early stage life sciences companies, led the Series A investment.

As part of the deal, Bluegrass Vascular will move its headquarters to San Antonio. The company, founded in 2011, will move from Lexington, Kentucky.

The company plans to use the funds for regulatory approval submissions for the Surfacer Inside-Out Access Catheter System, manufacturing and to obtain CE Mark for its device.

“The Surfacer System is a propriety system that allows physicians to gain venous access using a novel “inside-out” approach.
“The Surfacer System addresses a significant unmet clinical need in the vascular access market by allowing physicians to gain access through a previously occluded vein,” Alan Dean, senior managing director of Targeted Technology Fund II and Bluegrass Vascular Director, said in a news release.

“With a growing market awareness of central venous occlusion and interest in maintaining access, we believe Bluegrass Vascular is well positioned to have a strong presence in the dialysis and chemotherapy markets and is a valued addition to our investment portfolio.”

The product addresses a problem suffered by more than two million patients worldwide who develop blocked veins during medical treatment.

“After all central veins become compromised, patients must resort to invasive surgical techniques to gain or maintain CVA,” according to a news release. “The Surfacer System maintains access in an occluded vein, halting the progression to invasive surgery and downstream health risks associated with poor circulation, using a less risky inside-out approach.”