Affinergy Lands $3 Million in B Round, Begins Staffing Up

, which is developing coatings to make orthopedic and cardiovascular products more effective, has landed $3 million in new funding.

The RTP start-up is in the process of hiring five additional people as it staffs up in expectation of future demand for its products and services.

“This is about what we were shooting for,” said Chief Executive Officer Peyton Anderson about the amount of the Series B round. “We have quite a few new individual investors – deep-pocketed angels. I just think there is a lot of excitement about this market.”

Lead institutional investors include NC IDEA, which also acquired a board seat, the Wilmington Investor Network (WIN), Charleston Angel Partners and Trinity Healthcare. All had invested in Affinergy’s A round of $2.3 million.

“We’re having fun,” said Anderson about the growth the company is experiencing. “We certainly are generating revenues … We are quite convinced that profitability is achievable in the next one- to two-year horizon.”

Affinergy currently employs 15 people, but Anderson said hiring would continue since the company is expecting to sign additional research-and-development partners later this year.

“There are eight to 10 markets in which our technology has the potential to have meaningful impact,” Anderson said. “Our investors like our approach of signing R&D agreements early and working with established companies. Our investors are excited by the fact that we have good partnerships with big device companies and the fact we may not ultimately need large amounts of capital.”

Affinergy hopes to sign one or two agreements with other partners that will include R&D funding, Anderson said. In November, Affinergy announced its first major partnership, securing Boston Scientific as a client for development of new coatings to be used in cardiovascular stents.

“Our real focus right now is to lock down our next few corporate partnerships,” Anderson said. “Our real challenge is to staff up. We need to be able to deliver on multiple research programs simultaneously.”

Affinergy has licensed technology from Duke University for use in the development of coatings as well as medical devices.

"NC IDEA remains very excited by the potential of Affinergy to improve a wide variety of medical devices," said David Rizzo, chief executive officer of NC IDEA, who will joining Affinergy's board, in a statement. "Affinergy's team has executed very well on its initial plan and we enthusiastically support the acceleration of activities and investments for the next few years.”