Obalon Therapeutics is a San Diego–based medical technology company that develops the Obalon balloon, a novel, nonsurgical, fully reversible swallowed gastric balloon for weight loss. The balloon is designed to partially fill the stomach to induce a feeling of fullness; patients swallow a capsule containing the balloon, which is then inflated, with additional balloons placed during treatment and removed endoscopically at the end of the treatment period. The device is approved and available in the European Union, Mexico and the Middle East. The company completed a $30M financing (a $20M Series D and a $10M term loan), bringing total capital raised to $65M since its 2008 founding. Obalon intends to use the funds to support U.S. clinical trials to pursue FDA approval, to develop its pipeline and to commercialize the Obalon balloon in territories outside the U.S. Led by CEO Andy Rasdal, the company is focused on regulatory progress and international commercialization. Obalon Therapeutics develops a novel, nonsurgical, fully-reversible device in which swallowed capsules are remotely inflated into gastric balloons to create satiety and reduce food intake. The company has begun enrolling patients in its first U.S. clinical trial after receiving IDE approval from the FDA and has completed four clinical trials outside the U.S. Obalon received CE Mark approval for the Obalon Gastric Balloon System and expects to begin initial commercial distribution in Europe this summer. Clinical results presented at the IFSO European Congress showed 34% excess weight loss in a three-month Mexico study and approximately 45% excess weight loss in a similar European study. The device is not commercially available in the U.S. and is being studied there only as an investigational device. Obalon closed a $16.5 million Series C financing to support its clinical development and initial European commercialization efforts. Obalon Therapeutics is developing a gastrointestinal space-occupying device intended to promote weight loss in people who are overweight or obese. The company completed a 60-day observational pilot study in September and has an ongoing 30-day study listed on clinicaltrials.gov. It is targeting the $14.6 billion obesity treatment device market, currently dominated by restrictive devices such as Allergan’s Lap-Band, with a more segmented market expected as new device categories gain approval. Obalon operates in stealth mode and has previously raised a Series A in 2008 from Domain Associates, Phagia Technology Inc., and Okapi Venture Capital. Andrew Rasdal, former CEO of DexCom and former SVP at Medtronic, is listed as the company’s president. Recently the company secured $1.5 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing.

Total raised

$48M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Debt Financing

Latest activity

Jan 2015