NEW YORK (360Dx) – Blood collection device firm Magnolia Medical on Tuesday said that it has raised $7.25 million, bringing the total funding it has secured to date to $30 million.
Several institutional investors participated in the financing, including Canepa Advanced Healthcare Fund. The funding supports $13.8 million that the firm received in July 2016 and will be used to accelerate commercialization of Magnolia's SteriPath blood collection system, which the firm said is the only clinically proven device to virtually eliminate "false positive" blood culture test results from patients suspected of having sepsis.
SteriPath sequesters contaminants and creates access for sterile blood flow into the culture test bottles. According to Magnolia, the single-use system has been proven in multiple clinical settings to reduce false positive blood cultures by more than 90 percent, in the process reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
SteriPath allows hospitals to improve antimicrobial stewardship at a time of rising concerns about needless antibiotic use and associated resistance, Magnolia said, adding there are an estimated 2 million antibiotic-resistant infections each year in the US, leading to at least 23 million deaths, the company said.
Traditional collection methods have resulted in an average of 20 percent to 50 percent of positive blood culture tests being contaminated and ultimately determined to be false positive, it added. Magnolia Cofounder and CEO Greg Bullington said that the company's clinical trial results have consistently demonstrated 10-times better performance with SteriPath, compared to the current standard of care.
In connection to the financing Paul Enever, managing director of Canepa Healthcare, has joined Magnolia's board, the firm said.