Healionics, a Seattle-based medical technology company, raised $5.5 million in new financing aimed at helping the company complete an ongoing human trial and pursue regulatory clearance and commercialization of its artificial blood vessel for kidney dialysis patients.
The investment was led by Keiretsu Capital, which previously led a $4.7 million round in 2021. Healionics also raised $4.5 million for its tech in 2019.
Founded in 2007 and led by CEO Mike Connolly, Healionics has been working on its STARgraft vascular graft for years as a solution to the challenge of providing reliable vascular access for dialysis patients.
According to Healionics, more than 550,000 people in the U.S. suffer from kidney failure and require frequent dialysis to filter waste from their blood. Patients with failed kidneys can undergo dialysis several times per week. In administering the treatment, physicians often use a vascular graft to maintain access to the bloodstream, but current grafts often fail due to blockages, also known as vascular occlusion, or infection.
The company says STARgraft, based on proprietary synthetic biomaterial technology, is designed to resist both problems.
