Innovation

In a big week for the lifescience community, three Pittsburgh startups received a few million a piece as they move toward the commercialization of pioneering medical technologies; all will be hiring.

ALung, Thermal Therapeutic Systems and Blue Belt Technologies raised just under $3 million each.

Added to that, Carnegie Speech announced it has closed on a $2.2 million A-2 round that will be applied toward international and domestic U.S. marketing sales and distribution initiatives. Earlier the company announced a strategic partnership with In-Q-Tel, an investment firm that supports the CIA and broader U.S. Intelligence Community. For the Pop City story, click here.

ALung has developed a revolutionary device, the Hemolung System, which will replace or supplement ventilators in hospitals. The system works similarly to acute kidney dialysis and is expected to improve clinical outcomes, reduce the length of hospital stays by several days and cut medical costs.

The South Side company will use the funds for clinical trials in India and Germany. If the trials go well, ALung will gear up for commercialization and hire a "few people here and there" over the next year, says Peter DeComo, CEO, chairman and an investor in the company. The company currently employs nine. The investors are private individuals.

More good news was announced by Thermal Therapeutic Systems this week, which raised $2.75 million from Originate Ventures in Bethlehem, Pa. The company, in the final stages of a hyperthermic perfusion technology, which is a portable device to heat and circulate warm, sterile fluids during medical procedures, applied for FDA approval in July; the funds will be used to commercialize the technology.

Once the product receives FDA clearance, the company, currently at two, will be hiring and seeking a facility for operations, says DeComo, who is also chairman of Thermal Therapeutics. The company was co-founded by CEO Raymond Vennare and Mary Del Brady in 2006 and is located in Edgewood.

"It's still very difficult to raise money, it's not easy out there," notes DeComo. "The fact that we can get financing is very positive for the region and indicative of the great technologies coming out of Pittsburgh."
Blue Belt Technologies has closed on a $2.4 million Series A round of financing led private investors, PLSG and Innovation Works. The firm is designing the next generation of "smart tools," surgical instruments for use in orthopaedic and neurosurgery procedures. For the Pop City story, click here.

The funds will be used to complete Blue Belt's bone cutting tool, the Precision Freehand Sculptor, and prepare for FDA submission and thet market release of the company's products, says Craig Markovitz, CEO. BlueBelt also plans to hire a number of engineers as well as business support staff.

Writer: Debra Diamond Smit
Sources: Peter DeComo, ALung and Thermal Therapeutics, Craig Markovitz, Blue Belt Technologies

Image courtesy of ALung