Medical 21, the latest medical device venture from Manny Villafaña, recently raised $2.5 million as it pursues a new type of artificial artery for bypass surgery.
Villafaña, 83, is one of the Twin Cities' most successful med-tech entrepreneurs, having previously founded St. Jude Medical and co-invented the first lithium-powered pacemaker. He says the next step for Medical 21 is raising $10 million for human clinical trials.
Earlier this year, the company relocated to a 7,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Plymouth Business Center III at 3700 Annapolis Lane in Plymouth. The new location was customized for the company's clinical trials and initial commercialization, according to Colliers Life Sciences. The new space has research and testing capabilities, warehouse and office space.
Medical 21 is Villafaña’s eighth medical device company, which he founded in 2016. The company is making strides to reach its funding goal, raising nearly $20 million in all.
The company is engineering an artificial artery that encourages cellular integration after coronary artery bypass grafting (or CABG) surgery. In a CABG surgery, a blocked artery in the heart is bypassed by a vein or veins, which are usually taken from the patient's legs. By creating an artificial artery, the patient forgoes a painful surgery that harvests the vessels and requires more recovery time.
The company began implanting the device in animal studies in 2017 and have performed a total of 100 implants to date. In 2019, it began implanting the latest version of the device in animal studies.
Villafaña said the company may go public for continued funding efforts.
