FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Chan LaRue
Email: chan@alaruecompany.com
A LaRue Company aims to disrupt the surgical industry through its innovative medical device, improving clinical outcomes for patients
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – A LaRue Company (ALC), a medical device company with a surgical evacuator used in breast implantation removal, today announced $2.5 million in a Pre-A funding. The funding will support the company’s ability to accelerate U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance while scaling product development and preparing for market entry.
ALC takes an innovative approach to surgical evacuation, specifically the breast implant removal process. In 2021, there were 365,000 breast augmentations performed in the United States, and 148,000 women had implants removed and replaced (+32% from 2020), and 71,000 had their implants removed and not replaced (+47%). “ALC is an excellent company with a very needed product. We are excited to be a part of the team,” says Randall Dobbins, President of the Diversity Consortium.
“Surgeons and nurses do not currently have a good option for removing ruptured or leaking silicone breast implants.” said Angela LaRue, CEO of ALC. “This often results in longer surgeries with an increased chance of silicone cross-contamination. Our surgical evacuator delivers standardized, accurate removal of gelatinous material, significantly improving clinical results, shortening operation time and enabling successful procedures that maintain the integrity of the ruptured implant for further research.”
ALC developed the LaRue Surgical Evaluator (LSE), a unique surgical device that through a rapid connection to operating room suction, and our patented ridges, creates a vacuum seal to safely remove gelatinous material such as breast implants. LSE aids surgeons in providing patients with a safe, rapid, less invasive removal procedure.
“There are more than 10 million people worldwide who have breast implants that they may want to remove or replace safely at some point in their lives,” said Dr. Al S. Aly, M.D, a Professor of Plastic Surgery. “ALC brings a much-needed, safe solution to the complex problem of surgical implant removal.”
ALC was founded in 2019 by Angela LaRue, a plastic surgery operating room nurse who experienced first-hand the complications, time, and exposure current implant removal devices and processes create. ALC has performed four successful pilot programs with practices across the United States. Pilot success was measured in nearly a 40-minute time reduction per procedure, equal to nearly $3,000 in cost savings. All surgeons from the pilot have endorsed and support the LSE.
ALC has launched a campaign on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/a.larue.company/] seeking $1.5M of debt financing. The remainder of the $2.5M funding target will be equity financing to be launched in December 2022. The campaign is being led by the existing shareholders with strategic help from The Diversity Consortium, a supplier diversity advocacy firm helping minority businesses secure funding and grow scale.
