Lazarus 3D, an Albany-based startup that makes realistic-looking organs to allow surgeons to practice a surgery, has raised $6 million, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The seed equity investment was led by Ecliptic Capital of Austin, Texas.
Lazarus last year received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for a pre-operative surgical platform, called Pre-Sure, in which the company creates personalized organs from imaging scans and that surgeons can use to "rehearse" ahead of time. The clearance pertains specifically to genital-urinary conditions, mostly cancer of the kidney, said co-founder and CEO Jacques Zaneveld.
In February, Lazarus officially launched the patient-specific products, which have been used by surgeons at the University of Miami and a urologist at Samaritan Health in Oregon.
“We knew we were going to need financial backing to enter the market because the market is new and we’re creating a new technology that doesn’t have a precedent,” co-founder Smriti Zaneveld said in a Wednesday interview. “The goal for the funding opportunity is to have the financial backing to bring this technology to the market, capture the market and grow our team and our verticals.”
Lazarus now is seeking FDA clearance for other indications and organs, including the heart, brain and pancreas. The models, made on a 3D printer, are soft and pliable and can even bleed and discharge fluid. They’re designed to be cut into and stitched up, allowing a surgeon to rehearse before taking the knife to an actual patient.
The Zanevelds, which have won awards from the Technology Association of Oregon, will be debuting the technology at a large urology conference in May. They are also in discussions with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and private insurer about allowing for reimbursement. The American Medical Association recently issued medical billing codes for the Pre-Sure models.
