Minneapolis Firm Raises $11.8M for Lymphedema System

Tactile Systems Technology, a Minneapolis, MN, company whose technology treats vascular disorders such as lymphedema, has raised $11.8 million. The financing, led by Galen Partners of Stamford, CT, will be used to increase sales of the company’s lead product, Flexitouch, within the lymphedema market, and to expand into the chronic-wound space.

The Flexitouch system consists of a programmable controller that attaches to segmented garments covering the limb, trunk and chest. Therapy is delivered through chambers in the garments that inflate and deflate sequentially, simulating manual lymphatic drainage. This at-home therapy usually follows manual lymphatic therapy provided by therapists in clinical settings. Tactile received FDA approval for Flexitouch for lymphatic drainage in 2002 and more recently for the treatment of wounds.

“This funding will enable us to accelerate our growth in the market and provide important therapy to the increasing number of patients with lymphedema,” said Gerald Mattys, Tactile’s CEO, in a statement. “We intend to increase the size of our direct sales force, fund larger clinical trials proving product efficacy and expand into new clinical indications, such as the treatment of chronic wounds.”

Lymphedema is the abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid in body tissues, typically in the dermis of the arms or legs due to blockage or inadequacy of lymph circulation. It is often the unintended consequence of cancer treatment. Approximately 25 percent of breast cancer survivors develop lymphedema within two years of treatment.

Twelve-year-old Tactile had revenue of less than $200,000 in 2003; each year since, revenue has more than doubled. Earlier in 2007, the company was named “Corporation of the Year” by the Lymphatic Research Foundation.