Concentric Medical, developer of minimally invasive devices used to remove blood clots in ischemic stroke patients, took $15 million in new venture backing to expand its product portfolio and run more clinical trials. The Mountain View, Calif. company says it ended 2008 on a strong financial note that helped attract investors despite the tight economy. This is an uptick from February, when it withdrew its plans for a $69 million initial public offering.
Concentric Medical's devices are comprised of catheters that are inserted into a patient's arteries to the brain, where a wire coils around clots and carefully removes them. This model has been known to malfunction and cause additional blood vessel damage, according to past VentureBeat coverage.
New Enterprise Associates led the recent round. The company had previously raised $53 million from NEA, SV Life Sciences, Oxford Bioscience Partners and ProQuest Investments.