Ben Franklin-backed Cagent Vascular Closes $30 Million Series C

Carol A. Burns

Wayne, Pa.-based Cagent Vascular, a commercial-stage startup with an advanced device to treat cardiovascular disease, has closed a $30 million Series C round led by U.S. Venture Partners, of Menlo Park, Calif.

Georgia’s Blue Ridge Medical joined the round as a new investor, while existing investors, including Canada’s Sectoral Asset Management, participated. Cagent’s early backers include Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. So far, Cagent has raised $50.6 million from investors.

Innovative Device

Founded in 2014, Cagent has developed a “serration” technology for improving angioplasty, a 50-year-old procedure that still serves as a primary tool for endovascular procedures. Its “Serrenator” balloon catheters are claimed to be more effective and have been used in over 10,000 patients with peripheral artery disease, in many cases bringing relief within 15 minutes of treatment.

“This infusion of capital will increase our commercial reach, helping to provide greater access for healthcare providers and their patients,” said Cagent co-founder and CEO Carol A. Burns, a serial entrepreneur who also served Johnson and Johnson’s Animas unit.

Before co-founding Cagent, Burns was the founding CEO of Intact Vascular, which was acquired by Philips. She has been part of innovative medical device companies that have had successful exits – Embrella Cardiovascular (Edwards LifeSciences), Animas (Johnson & Johnson) and Ventrica (Medtronic).

Serranator uses three embedded serrated elements that help arterial expansion better than other balloons used in traditional angioplasty. The enhanced features restores better blood flow to the foot, enabling faster healing of wounds and faster relief from symptoms. The device has received FDA’s 510k pre-market clearance and is sold in the United States. Cagent says Serrenator has received clearances for “limited distribution” in Europe.

Startup Powerhouse
Since its inception in 1983, Ben Franklin has invested in more than 4,500 technology-based companies that have gone on to create nearly 150,000 jobs and added an estimated $25 billion to the state’s economy. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Ben Franklin collaborated with premier colleges and universities in the state, and creates a ecosystem in which startups can thrive.