Vascular access technology pioneer Velano Vascular today announced that it has secured $10 million as the initial tranche of a growth financing to fuel commercialization and the launch of additional novel vascular access solutions. This initial investment includes participation from strategic investor Intermountain Healthcare following the system's rollout of the PIVO™ needle-free blood collection technology; Becton Dickinson's former Chairman and CEO Edward Ludwig; notable entrepreneur, investor and health sector philanthropist Marc Benioff; Baxter International's former Chairman and CEO Robert Parkinson; Kapor Capital; and other undisclosed investors.

Intermountain previously collaborated with San Francisco-based Velano Vascular to test, refine and pilot the company's needle free PIVO technology. Following hundreds of thousands of successful blood draws, Intermountain was the first health system in the United States to deploy PIVO systemwide as a standard of care.

"As the first health system in the U.S. to bring PIVO to our inpatient populations, we have witnessed the many positive impacts of Velano's vision for a one-stick hospitalization firsthand," said Intermountain Healthcare President & Chief Executive Officer A. Marc Harrison, MD. "We are thrilled to deepen our commitment to Velano and help deliver a new, more humane standard of care for all patients."

This additional financing brings Velano's total investment to more than $37 million from a mix of healthcare companies, health systems, healthcare industry veterans and venture capital firms that all share a commitment to establish a new standard of care for the world's most vulnerable patients. The funding for this new round will be used to continue fueling the company's expansion.

A portion of the funds will also be deployed towards a state-of-the-art manufacturing line currently under construction in the United States. This new facility will begin production in 2019 to meet growing health system demand for Velano's needle free blood collection solutions.

"We are thrilled to welcome new and returning investors as we fuel our transformative efforts to meet the commercial demand for PIVO and a family of novel solutions," said Velano Chief Executive Eric M. Stone. "Blood collection is a universal issue and PIVO will ultimately touch every human on the planet. We are excited to expand our family of supporters as we build production capacity in the United States, enlist new hospital partners, and realize our vision for a one-stick hospitalization."

More than one billion inpatient blood draws occur around the world every year, informing nearly 70% of all medical decisions. Yet this procedure is made more difficult and less efficient through the use of needles, a process that is further complicated by the rising number of Difficult Venous Access (DVA) patients.

Velano's award-winning PIVO needle-free blood collection device and its family of vascular access products combat the urgent challenge of vascular access globally. In 2018, Velano expanded the use of its blood collection technologies to ten states and to dozens of U.S. hospitals.

To learn more about Velano and the world's growing vascular access challenge, please visit http://www.velanovascular.com.

About Velano Vascular

Velano Vascular is a medical device innovator committed to reducing the pain, risk and inefficiencies of traditional blood collection practices while enhancing the clinical domain of vascular access. The company's revolutionary FDA-approved PIVO device expands the use of peripheral IV lines for frequent, high quality blood draws, aiming to deliver painless, compassionate care for hospital inpatients, a safer practice for caregivers, and a more financially responsible alternative for health systems. More information is available at www.velanovascular.com.

About Intermountain Healthcare

Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals, 160 clinics, a Medical Group with some 2,300 employed physicians and advanced care practitioners, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare through evidence-based best practices, high quality, and sustainable costs. For more information about Intermountain, visit intermountainhealthcare.org.