Veteran respiratory technology company leader John Miclot has joined US-based Breathe Technologies after it closed its third round of funding at $23m.
Miclot was previously executive president of breathing products company Respironics for five years before selling it to Dutch conglomerate Philips for $5.2bn in March 2008. After the sale, he became chief executive of Philips Home Healthcare Solutions and is currently an executive-in-residence at buyout firm Warburg Pincus, serving on the boards of Wright Medical Group, ev3, and Dentsply.
He is now chairman of Breathe, which makes wearable ventilators and saw Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venturing division come in as a new investor for its series C round.
Gregory Kapust, executive president of Breathe, said: "The series C financing will fund commercialization of Breathe’s ultralight, mobile ventilation system for the millions of people worldwide with breathing challenges, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). We will also continue development of our novel solutions for the sleep- disordered breathing market."
The $23m C round was led by venture capital firm DAG Ventures, another new investor alongside Johnson & Johnson Development Corp, with further participation from its previous backers.
US-based VC Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led Breathe’s $15m series B round in 2008 while Synergy Partners International, Delphi Ventures and Life Science Angels participated in the company’s $4.2m series A in early 2006.