Access Vascular announced today that it has successfully raised $22 million in a Series C financing round.

The funding round saw participation from both new and returning investors.

Billerica, Massachusetts–based AVI said the funds will significantly boost production capacity for its Mimix hydrophilic biomaterial vascular access devices. Notably, the company crafted its Mimix devices to counter the foreign body reaction by replicating the human body’s innate chemistry.

The Series C will also back further investigations into Mimix’s potential to reduce catheter infection rates. It will also help expand AVI’s existing product range.

“AVI is poised to have a substantial impact on vascular access complications and their associated costs,” company founder and CEO James Biggin said in a news release. “This funding, coupled with increasing demand for our ground-breaking catheters, and new data showing reduced bacterial adhesion, is yet another milestone on our path to transforming the standard of care for vascular access.”

Studies on the Mimix material, integral to AVI’s HydroPICC, HydroPICC Dual, and HydroMID catheters, have pointed to a considerable six-fold drop in complications when juxtaposed with the conventional polyurethane catheter material, according to the company. Recent data presentation also showcased a marked reduction in bacterial adhesion using an in vitro blood loop model, alongside a 96% dip in thrombus accumulation, as compared to polyurethane catheters.

Vascular access-related complications burden the U.S. healthcare framework with a staggering annual cost of around $4.5 billion, according to research published last year in the International Journal of Nursing and Health Care Research. These complications can potentially rack up individual costs exceeding $20,000 apiece, not factoring in potential long-term consequences for patients.