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Despite Setbacks, Emphysema Devices Find Funding

Minimally invasive emphysema devices have seen their ups and downs over the years, but despite technological and regulatory challenges, VCs continue to fund these devices, with investments driven by the market opportunity, huge unmet clinical need, and promising technologies.

For innovators and investors, the path to developing a minimally invasive device for treating emphysema has been filled with both opportunity and obstacles. The market opportunity is vast. The global incidence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which includes emphysema, is on the rise and will become the third leading cause of death by 2030. In the US, where nearly five million people are diagnosed with emphysema, the direct and indirect costs of COPD reached almost $50 billion in 2010, and the prevalence of patients with severe and very severe emphysema in key markets worldwide is estimated at more than 1.5 million, according to Uptake Medical Corp., a competitor in this space. (See Exhibit 1.)

Exhibit 1

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