Metactive announces nearly $3M combined in funding round, government grant

Fairway-based Metactive has raised a $1.2 million round to accelerate the development of its products for the treatment of neurovascular, peripheral vascular and structural heart diseases.

Dr. Nick Franano

The round included Kansas City-based Mid-America Angels, as well as Serra Ventures. Founded by CEO Nick Franano, Metactive has raised more than $10 million to date.

In addition to the round, Metactive announced Thursday it was awarded a $1.5 million SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to commercialize its embolic device for the occlusion of peripheral arteries and veins.

“This new investment capital and grant funding will be used to continue the development of our novel platform of embolic products,” Franano said in a release, “which we believe will provide physicians with devices that are exceptionally deliverable, can be placed with a high level of precision, are resistant to migration, and provide immediate, complete, and lasting occlusion.”

Embolization is a treatment that blocks the flow of blood in specific segments of arteries and veins, enabling doctors to divert blood away from cancerous tumors and other abnormal tissues. More than 150,000 peripheral vascular embolization procedures are performed each year around the world using coils and vascular plugs, which can be difficult to use and often result in incomplete treatment.

Mid-America Angels and an unnamed investor participated in a previous $1.5 million Series A funding round, which was announced nearly a year ago.

Franano also is the CEO of Flow Forward Medical.