EvoEndo today said it secured $10.1 million in equity financing to develop its unsedated transnasal endoscopy system.

The Denver-based company’s funding round included family offices and early-stage life science investors.

EvoEndo’s transnasal endoscopy (TNE) system is a sterile, single-use, flexible endoscope with VR-based patient distraction to allow the procedure to be completed without anesthesia or sedation. The system is pending FDA 510(k) clearance and is not available for sale in the U.S.

“The need for sterile single-use devices that reduce infection risk and safer procedures for pediatric patients that reduce time spent in hospitals has only intensified amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” CEO Heather Underwood said in a news release. “Joel and his interdisciplinary team have pioneered the unsedated TNE procedure for pediatric patients, demonstrating the potential of this procedure to dramatically improve the lives of patients suffering from conditions like GERD/reflux, ulcers, Celiac Disease, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). The EvoEndo system will allow more hospitals across the U.S. to quickly and affordably start unsedated TNE programs, and this funding round will enable us to execute on that vision.”

EvoEndo was cofounded in 2017 by pediatric gastroenterologist Joel Friedlander to make endoscopies safer for patients by eliminating the need for general anesthesia while also reducing the complexity and cost of endoscopy for patients and hospitals.

“EvoEndo’s approach to solving the burdens too often associated with traditional endoscopy procedures currently requiring sedation is showing real and clear potential to redefine the ways in which these arduous procedures are performed,” David Bunning, CEO of TLP Investment Partners, who participated in the funding round, said. “We are pleased to be partnering with Heather, Joel, and their talented team as they continue their exceptionally important work making unsedated TNE the safer and more cost-effective solution for patients, doctors, and hospitals.”