Participated · Seed · Feb 2021

VenoStent is a Houston, TX–based clinical-stage medical device company developing SelfWrap, a bioabsorbable perivascular wrap placed around arteriovenous access sites during fistula-creation surgery. The wrap is intended to accelerate usability and increase the durability of AV fistula sites for chronic kidney disease patients requiring hemodialysis by mimicking the arterial environment in veins and leveraging the body’s healing mechanisms. The company is led by CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., and COO Geoffrey Lucks. VenoStent recently completed its Series A financing at $20M, including a $4M investment from Norwest Venture Partners. It was also awarded a $3.6M SBIR Phase II grant from the NIH to help fund a planned multi-center, 200-patient randomized controlled trial in the U.S. The company intends to use the funds to support clinical development and the RCT to validate SelfWrap's impact on fistula usability and durability. VenoStent is a clinical-stage, venture-backed therapeutic medical device company developing a bioabsorbable wrap, SelfWrap, to transform outcomes in vascular surgery, starting with hemodialysis access. SelfWrap is intended to improve the usability and durability of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) used by chronic kidney disease patients for dialysis. The company recently closed a $16M Series A financing to support clinical and manufacturing work. VenoStent plans to use the funds to expand its US pivotal trial and scale manufacturing capabilities as it pursues FDA approval. The company has been granted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA for its US clinical trial, SAVE-FistulaS. VenoStent is led by CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., and has previously received funding from KidneyX, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Y Combinator, Health Wildcatters, and Texas Halo Fund. VenoStent’s core technology is polymer engineering protected by patents; its first product, SelfWrap, is a slip-on bioresorbable wrap intended to address the 55–65% vascular access surgery failure rate in hemodialysis patients. The company aims to complete first-in-human clinical work and conduct studies to support Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) and an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) submission. Proceeds from the recent round will be used to grow the team, scale quality control and manufacturing processes, and strengthen clinical and reimbursement positions. VenoStent has participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2020 batch and is led by Co-Founder and CEO Tim Boire, Ph.D., with Geoff Lucks as Co-Founder and COO. Its funding to date exceeds $6M, which includes non-dilutive grants and prize awards alongside prior equity investments.