Allurion Kicks It up a Notch with New Funding and Personnel
The Obesity treatment company has raised $34 million to help it in its bid to get the Elipse Balloon for weight loss approved. Allurion is also seeking to use the funding to expand its presence outside the U.S.
January 8, 2020
Allurion has been making some pretty strong moves in the obesity treatment market over the past few days. The Natick, MA-based company recently announced significant funding and the hiring of several key personnel.
These measures are being taken to help the company gain FDA approval for the Elipse Balloon for weight loss, and expand its presence outside the U.S.
Allurion, which MD+DI once named as one of 5 Obesity Startups You Should Know, raised $34 million in new funding through a securities financing and a growth capital term loan. The round was led by Novalis LifeSciences and Romulus Capital with participation from IDO Investments and ex-Covidien CEO Jose Almeida. The financing also includes a growth capital term loan from Bridge Bank.
In terms of personnel, Allurion announced the addition of Whitney Cypes as VP of Global Marketing and Chris Aronson as VP of North American Sales and the promotion of Benoit Chardon to executive VP of Commercial.
“Allurion has developed a best-in-class program to help people lose weight and stay healthy around the world,” Dr. Shantanu Gaur, Allurion’s co-founder and CEO, said in a release. “I am looking forward to working with these new additions to our team as we enter our next phase of rapid growth.”
These measures are a few months removed from Allurion completing enrollment from the ENLIGHTEN Pivotal trial. The firm said it plans to submit its PMA to FDA sometime next year.
The company said unlike other weight loss balloons on the market, the Elipse Balloon is designed to be placed and removed without surgery, endoscopy, or anesthesia. It is swallowed in a capsule during an outpatient office visit and is designed to remain in the stomach for about four months, after which it opens and passes naturally from the body. More than 20,000 devices have already been distributed across 25 countries, with over half shipped this year alone.
Allurion isn’t the only obesity-treatment company that has been burning up medtech headlines. Obalon, a company MD+DI named as one of Medtech’s Winners of 2019, dominated headlines.
The San Diego, CA-based company took its observers on a rollercoaster ride throughout 2019 – by laying off its direct salesforce and then changing course by then announcing it would own and operate a network of centers supporting the Obalon Balloon Center.
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