For the past decade, venture capitalists have invested in companies that are developing new technologies to treat late-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders such as emphysema, hoping to create a new line of devices to aid patients who can't draw enough oxygen from a single breath. ( See "Emphysema: Elusive Target for Device Companies," IN VIVO , December 2008 Also see "Emphysema: Elusive Target for Device Companies" - In Vivo, 1 December, 2008..) Despite hundreds of millions in venture capital dollars, the companies have made little progress in bringing these products to market in the US.
But this band of start-ups is taking the fight to the streets – of Europe. The Food and Drug Administration...