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Calypso Raises $44M Series C To Fund Implantable Cancer Location Device
John Galante -- June 2, 2005 - Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies Inc. said it has closed on $44 million of Series C financing to support the development, expansion and commercialization of its device to determine the location and movement of cancers for improved radiation therapy.
Arnerich Massena & Associates Inc. and BB Biotech Ventures led the round, which included the participation of Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners, Merlin BioMed Group and Rockport Ventures as well as existing Calypso shareholders.
In March, VentureWire reported that $8.5 million of capital had been committed to the Series C from prior investors Earlybird Ventures, Frazier HealthCare Ventures, Utah Ventures, Versant Venture Capital and Bay City Capital.
Founded in 1999, Calypso investors, which also include Integra Ventures, Rivervest Ventures, Kaiser Permanente, Softbank and Mosaix, had previously provided $36.6 million through Series A, B and seed rounds.
"Funds raised in this round afford the company sufficient working capital to complete the investigational studies, expand the platform, and upon regulatory clearance, provide the technology to the hundreds of thousands of patients receiving radiation treatment," President and Chief Executive Eric Meier said in a release.
The company declined to comment further on the financing or the development of its technology.
Calypso has developed a system to provide information on cancerous tissue in order to enable more accurate radiation therapy. Small transponders that are inserted in or near malignant cells are activated by an electromagnetic frequency and transmit signals back to a device able to illustrate location and movement in real time.
An initial product has been developed and tested in clinical trials for use in prostate cancer. In a biopsy-like surgery, the transponders are inserted into the gland and help to determine movements caused by breathing and moving as well as a full bladder or rectum.
Current locators generally involve external markings, even permanent tattoos, that assume a target for radiation is fixed within the body. Additionally, even more sophisticated X-ray technologies are unable to provide information in real-time.
Breast, head and neck, and lung cancer types that are also often subject to radiation could serve as additional indications for the Calypso device.
http://www.calypsomedical.com
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