Veran Medical pulls in $31m for lung nav device

Veran Medical Technologies said today that it raised a $30.6 million funding round, led by Versant Ventures and River Cities Capital Funds, that it plans to use to expand the commercial footprint of its lung navigation platform.

St. Louis-based Veran said prior backers Prolog Ventures, Advantage Capital, Rex Health Ventures, 3G Capital, Dynamic Investments and Vectis also joined the over-subscribed round.

Veran’s Spin and SpinPerc devices, which compete with Medtronic’s SuperDimension product, combine navigational bronchoscopy and percutaneous navigation, according to its website. The Veran technology is designed to reduce the process for diagnosing lung cancer into a single procedure. Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today that it launched a huge, real-world study of the SuperDimension device, which it acquired along with Covidien earlier this year.

Veran landed its 1st institutional funding in May 2008, raising $4.8 million in a round led by Prolog that included Advantage Capital Partners and existing private investors. The company relocated then from Nashville to St. Louis. In March 2011 the company said it pulled down another $15 million from existing investors and “a new strategic partner.” Last year, a syndicate led by Prolog put in another $12 million; along with the round announced today, Veran has raised at least $62.4 million since its inception in 2005.

“Veran’s Spin thoracic navigation system and SpinPerc are transforming the physician’s ability to accurately access and diagnose hard-to-reach solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN’s) and to provide cost-effective care for the 2.7 million SPN’s found annually in the U.S.,” CEO Jason Pesterfield said in prepared remarks. “With this new financing, we are well positioned to accelerate our commercial expansion plans to address this fast growing multi-billion dollar potential market while helping our customers save more lives through the early diagnosis of lung cancer.”

“With Veran’s revolutionary technology and the recent CMS approval of lung cancer screening, the company has the potential to advance treatment for the millions of patients annually that are found to have a lung nodule. By providing the physician with best-in-class navigational tools, more patients will receive earlier definitive diagnoses that enables optimal care and the chance for improved clinical outcomes,” added Versant Ventures managing director Kirk Nielsen.

“We have been tracking Veran and the thoracic navigation space for a number of years, and we believe the company has reached an inflection point as it relates to clinical validation and market adoption with their innovative next generation platform. We are excited to be working with this experienced team to build a very successful company,” noted River Cities Capital’s David Kereiakes.

Both Nielsen and Kereiakes are slated to join Veran’s board, the company said.

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