Avasa completed the first close of its pre-Series A fundraising round worth about $2.8 million (NZD$4.75 million).
Movac, one of New Zealand’s largest and longest-standing venture capital funds, led the oversubscribed round. Existing investor Bridgewest Ventures, which led Avasa’s seed round, also participated with several new backers.
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Auckland, New Zealand-based Avasa plans to use funds to support its Avasa Coupler device for reconstructive microsurgery. The device addresses a critical unmet need, the company says, enabling safe, fast and standard reconnection of micro-arteries. This procedure previously required surgeons to hand-sew small arteries under a microscope in a complex, time-consuming process. The company hopes to set the standard for microvascular connections. It wants to make microsurgery safer, faster and more accessible around the world.
Avasa said it now has the funding needed to progress through an FDA submission for the coupler device. It now aims to focus on completing verification testing ahead of an expected commercial launch.
To help build its go-to-market strategy, the company said it also recruited a senior commercial executive from Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
“This is a huge milestone for Avasa,” said Dr. Nandoun Abeysekera, CEO and founder. “After seven years of relentless R&D, we’ve reached design freeze for the Coupler and built our pre-production units, which have shown 100% success in chronic animal studies. In addition to my own experience as a plastics resident, 89% of the 100+ microsurgeons we interviewed expressed strong clinical demand for our solution. We’re laser-focused on getting it into their hands, and this capital will take us through FDA clearance and into the market in the next 18 months.
