California-based startup Apreo Health has raised $130m to further the development of its implant for treating severe emphysema.
The Series B round was co-led by new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Norwest and brings Apreo’s total funds to around $153m. Returning investors Lightstone Ventures and Santé Ventures also participated.
Apreo said the funds will primarily support the initiation of the BREATHE-3 pivotal trial to evaluate its BREATHE Airway Scaffold implant. The company also plans to use the financing towards regulatory activities associated with the pivotal trial and early commercialisation efforts to demonstrate BREATHE’s market potential.
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BREATHE is delivered bronchoscopically into affected lung tissue and is designed to relieve lung hyperinflation by releasing trapped air in patients with severe emphysema. The implant gained a breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2024 and is currently being evaluated in Apreo’s Phase II BREATHE-2 trial (NCT05949645).
Emphysema is not reversible. However, relieving lung hyperinflation can reduce shortness of breath (dyspnoea) in patients with the condition, thereby mitigating comorbidities that research indicates are likely exacerbated by reduced physical activity in emphysema patients due to dyspnoea.
While over three million Americans are affected by severe emphysema, less than one percent receive current interventional treatments such as lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) due to the procedure’s high morbidity rate.
Apreo CEO, Karun Naga said the data served as a “stark reflection” on the limitations of currently available severe emphysema treatments.
“This financing marks a significant milestone that enables us to complete a pivotal trial and continue advancing toward expanded access for this severely underserved population,” Naga said.
Dr Zack Scott, general partner at Norwest, called Apreo’s BREATHE device a potential “step-change” in the approach to emphysema care, noting that it is built for “broad, scalable delivery”.
Emphysema is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease is the fourth leading cause of death and the eighth leading cause of poor health worldwide. Almost 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with some form of COPD, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
