PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aragon Surgical, Inc., a venture backed surgical device start-up company, announced today that it has acquired VeriSure, Inc., a privately held medical device company. The acquisition provides Aragon Surgical with the LapCapTM, the first of an entirely new category of laparoscopic enabling products, the PCAD™ (Pneumoperitoneum Creation Assist Device). The Aragon Surgical LapCap allows a surgeon to more easily, rapidly, and predictably pass a Veress needle into the peritoneal cavity in order to create a pneumoperitoneum (the gas-filled space in which the surgeon operates).
The Aragon Surgical LapCap has already received FDA clearance based upon the demonstration of device safety and efficacy in a U.S. clinical trial. Aragon Surgical expects that the device will be commercially available to U.S. surgeons within 10 months.
“We are extremely excited to be adding the breakthrough LapCap technology to the products already under development here at Aragon Surgical,” said Dr. Peter Edelstein, a surgeon and President and CEO of Aragon Surgical. “Having performed numerous laparoscopic operations myself, I have no doubt that the LapCap will be of great benefit to my colleagues at the start of their laparoscopic procedures.”
Utilizing vacuum, in only 4-8 seconds the LapCap safely elevates a portion of abdominal wall up and away from the underlying intestines and blood vessels, creating a pathway for blind Veress needle passage. Currently, the surgeon (often assisted by a nurse), must forcefully lift the abdominal wall using penetrating clamps while simultaneously attempting to safely pass the 12cm Veress needle blindly into the abdomen. The Aragon Surgical LapCap allows the surgeon alone to effortlessly and rapidly elevate the abdominal wall away from the underlying critical anatomic structures before or during Veress needle passage, reducing the surgeon’s anxiety over this initial blind maneuver.
“The LapCap will appeal to my surgical colleagues in several specialties,” Dr. Edelstein stated. Laparoscopic gynecologists, general surgeons, bariatric surgeons, colon and rectal surgeons, and urologists will create a pneumoperitoneum approximately 2.4 million times this year in the U.S.
About Aragon Surgical, Inc.
Located in Palo Alto, California, Aragon Surgical is a venture backed, market driven surgical device company that is developing and commercializing a variety of surgical instruments intended to reduce operative time and improve patient safety, benefiting both patients and surgeons. Aragon Surgical was founded in 2005 with investments from Delphi Ventures and Onset Ventures.
About Delphi Ventures
Delphi Ventures is a venture capital firm that has focused on early stage investing in medical devices and biotechnology for two decades. With more than $850 million in committed capital, Delphi Ventures has funded over 150 companies. More than 90% of their portfolio companies have either completed an initial public offering or have been acquired by a leading healthcare corporation. http://www.delphiventures.com
About Onset Ventures
Onset Ventures specializes in providing “venture craftsmanship” — an ideal mix of start-up, follow-on, and intellectual capital to entrepreneurs and early-stage technology ventures, to help transform world-class ideas into sustainable and valuable businesses. The firm has backed over 100 companies since 1984 and now has more than $700 million under management. http://www.onset.com
