CytoPherx of Ann Arbor Raises $5M For Device To Treat Kidney Failure

CytoPherx, a medical device company based in Ann Arbor, MI, has raised $5 million toward a $7.5 million Series B round, according to VentureWire and a June 11 regulatory filing.

CytoPherx is a portfolio company of Apjohn Ventures, based in Kalamazoo, MI, which participated in the round led by Diamond Capital Partners in Los Angeles. Also participating was Lurie Investments of Chicago. Previous investor North Coast Technology Ventures of Ann Arbor and Midland, MI, did not appear to take part in the latest round, according to VentureWire.

A University of Michigan spinout, CytoPherx is developing a hollow-fiber dialysis filter to treat conditions like renal failure and inflammation caused by bypass surgery. The filter sequesters and deactivates leukocytes in the patient’s blood system. Acute renal failure and end-stage renal disease are the company’s initial targets, followed by inflammation caused by cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Author: Howard Lovy

Howard Lovy is a veteran journalist who has focused primarily on technology, science and innovation during the past decade. In 2001, he helped launch Small Times Magazine, a nanotech publication based in Ann Arbor, MI, where he built the freelance team and worked closely with writers to set the tone and style for an emerging sector that had never before been covered from a business perspective. Lovy's work at Small Times, and on one of the first nanotechnology-themed blogs, helped him earn a reputation for making complex subjects understandable, interesting, and even entertaining for a broad audience. It also earned him the 2004 Prize in Communication from the Foresight Institute, a nanotech think tank. In his freelance work, Lovy covers nanotechnology in addition to technological innovation in Michigan with an emphasis on efforts to survive and retool in the state's post-automotive age. Lovy's work has appeared in many publications, including Wired News, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Scientist, the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, Michigan Messenger, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle.