Obalon Therapeutics, a US-based non-surgical device for weight loss, has raised $5m from South Korea-based cosmetics maker AmorePacific’s corporate venturing unit.
Obalon has also entered into an exclusive international distributorship agreement with PacificPharma, an AmorePacific subsidiary.
In a regulatory filing last month, Obalon said it had raised $5m from one investor and has now disclosed that AmorePacific Ventures had taken a strategic stake in the company.
In July, Obalon raised $16.5m in its series C round from venture capital firms InterWest Partners, which led the consortium, Domain Associates and Okapi Venture Capital.
Obalon Therapeutics, Inc was founded in 2008 and in regulatory filings said its earlier investments were $1.5m in March and up to $7.7m in 2008. Phagia Technology is listed as an investor in the February 2008 filing, although this healthcare company is not listed on Obalon’s website as an investor.
Obalon has granted PacificPharma exclusive rights to market and distribute Obalon’s device for weight loss in South Korea, subject to regulatory approval of the device by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA).
Won-Joon Ahn, PacificPharma’s chief executive, said: “Obalon’s highly differentiated novel non-surgical device will be an important treatment option for patients in Korea and a solution for the unmet medical need for weight loss.”