Maryland medical device company Medcura Inc., which creates and commercializes products to treat wounds and stop bleeding, has raised millions in fresh funding to advance its pipeline and expand its commercial footprint.
The Riverdale company said Thursday it has raised $7.4 million in a Series A round from multiple backers, including early-stage fund Farmers for Innovation of Brandon, South Dakota, as well as family offices, existing investors and a few leading surgeons who made personal contributions to the round, a Medcura spokesperson said in an email.
The business has raised $10.5 million to date.
Medcura plans to use the latest capital to accelerate the growth of its product line and “and bring the company’s potentially lifesaving technology to operating rooms and battlefields worldwide,” CEO Larry Tiffany said in a statement. That includes advancing LifeGel, its lead surgical candidate to address bleeding during routine procedures. The business is now poised to submit to the Food and Drug Administration an application to start a clinical trial for that product.
The financing comes at “a pivotal point” in the company’s growth, and will also be used to expand Medcura’s sales footprint, Tiffany said. The business is aiming to sell its line of consumer products through additional brick-and-mortar locations and sales channels, including major pharmacies, grocery stores, big-box chains, mass distributors and other retailers, such as specialty camping and sporting goods outlets, according to the company. The funding also positions Medcura to broaden its market presence with the military, first responders, sports medicine and elderly care.
Medcura, a commercial-stage company, is developing multiple products to control bleeding from injuries and protect wounds from infection. That includes Rapid-Seal, a consumer first aid option with an antibacterial element, now selling on Amazon.com and in what the company said is the largest drug retailer in the U.S. Medcura declined to disclose the name of that drug store chain, but it’s working with partner ASO Medical to expand that pharmacy sales channel.
The company is also developing a device for internal traumatic and military injuries called LifeFoam that has scored breakthrough designation from the Food and Drug Administration. That product — intended for victims of battle, trauma or terrorist attacks — can temporarily control bleeding for abdominal injury that can’t tolerate compression, for instance.
The company, born out of research at the University of Maryland, rebranded from gel-e to Medcura in December 2019 to more clearly describe its work, Tiffany said in a statement at the time. Then in April 2020, Medcura moved to a new headquarters in the Discovery District near College Park, where it has research and development labs, manufacturing capacity and space for its team, including six employees and 10 part-time and contract workers.
That headcount will also grow with the new funding. Medcura is actively looking to expand its technical team, as well as starting to look for new senior members to support upcoming clinical trials, a company spokesperson said in an email.
The Prince George’s County company’s U.S. military grants and early investments, FDA clearances, patents and commercial sales traction made it an attractive investment for the Farmers for Innovation fund, FFI founder David Kolsrud said in a statement.
Tiffany, a serial entrepreneur, joined Medcura in 2018 after founding Bethesda diagnostic company DioGenix and leading it to its 2015 sale to San Francisco’s Amarantus BioScience for up to $10.9 million. He’d previously held senior management positions with other biotechs, including former Gaithersburg genomics company Ore Pharmaceuticals.
