Velano Vascular has snagged CE Mark certification for its blood-draw technology, the devicemaker announced Monday. The product is meant to be an alternative to conventional blood drawing in hospitals, a process that relies on needle sticks and can require the use of more than one for successful blood specimen collection. Instead, the device uses a peripheral intravenous catheter, which most hospitalized patients already have in place, to gather blood, the company says. The innovation is expected to improve patient experience and medical professional safety. The devicemaker has begun clinical trials in the U.S. where the product was FDA 510(k) cleared in February. In addition, the company is collaborating with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

1. NEWS RELEASE
FDA Clears New Blood-Draw Technology from Velano
Vascular Designed to Reduce Needle Exposures for
Hospitalized Patients and Healthcare Providers
2/9/2015
Philadelphia, PA and San Francisco, CA, February 9, 2015 — Velano Vascular today announced that the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing clearance for a new technology that provides an
innovative approach to one of the most common procedures in medicine – the in-hospital blood draw. The
proprietary device reduces the need for needle sticks (clinically known as venipunctures) for blood draws in the
hospital, a procedure that occurs approximately 350 million times annually in the United States alone.
The Velano Vascular technology is designed to reduce unnecessary pain and anxiety for patients receiving
medications and hydration via intravenous (IV) delivery, while aiming to provide a safer work environment for
healthcare providers conducting blood draws.
"A fundamental benefit of this technology is reducing the 'pin cushion effect', in which hospitalized patients are
'stuck' several times daily to obtain blood tests. Oftentimes, the draw procedure is plagued by multiple failed
attempts," said Eric M. Stone, Velano Vascular's co-founder and chief executive officer. "The FDA's clearance of this
novel technology validates the existing clinical need and will allow us to expedite our efforts to bring this innovation
to patients, healthcare providers and hospitals around the world."
According to research conducted by Velano Vascular, one out of every three hospital patients is stuck two or more
times daily for blood draws, with a significant subset of these inpatients receiving as many as three blood draws or
greater, along with numerous needle sticks. Twenty-eight percent of adult venipunctures and 44 percent of
pediatric venipunctures require more than one stick to successfully draw blood.1 Using the disposable, single-use
Velano Vascular technology, newly placed peripheral intravenous (PIV) catheters can be momentarily repurposed to
draw blood from patients, thereby reducing the need for additional needle sticks to conduct blood draws among
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2. the majority of hospitalized patients with IVs in place.
"Traditional blood draws are one of the most common and most problematic healthcare procedures," said Karen
Daley, PhD, RN, immediate past president of the American Nurses Association and a healthcare-worker safety
advocate. "It is an antiquated technology that creates pain and anxiety for many patients, a significant safety risk for
healthcare professionals, and a real inefficiency in our healthcare system. Velano Vascular has developed a
common-sense solution to this pervasive, long-standing problem."
"Velano Vascular has developed a simple, game-changing innovation that will improve the way medicine has been
practiced for decades," said Mitch Kapor, founding partner at Kapor Capital, a Velano Vascular investor. "We are
proud to be supporting a technology that has the potential to deliver profound benefits for everyone involved."
About Velano Vascular
Velano Vascular technologies transform patient care by enhancing the blood-draw experience during
hospitalization. The company's innovative medical technologies aim to reduce the pain and discomfort associated
with these procedures for patients while improving safety and efficiency for providers. Founded by a patient
advocate and a physician, Velano Vascular is backed by First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, Safeguard Scientifics,
White Owl Capital, Griffin Hospital, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and several health-industry veterans.
Velano Vascular's clinical collaborators include several of the leading hospital systems in the United States. More
information is available at www.velanovascular.com.
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