SeQual Prepares to Launch Portable Oxygen Concentrator

Las Vegas

After spending five years and $12 million in development, SeQual is nearly ready to launch its new Eclipse Oxygen System. The concentrator offers both pulse and continuous options for stationary and ambulatory patients.

The San Diego-based company, which currently is in the process of beta-testing the product, should be finished with the testing before the end of the summer, followed by official product introduction.

“The results have exceeded our expectations,” Chairman and CEO Jim Bixby said at Medtrade Spring. “Patient enthusiasm is unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

According to Bixby, the unit saves on power costs for users and saves on oxygen delivery costs for providers. The Eclipse uses 46 watts at 3 liters per minute, compared to nearly double the wattage for other concentrators and pulse portables, he said. The 17-pound unit runs about four to five hours on a battery.

“We’re proud of the product. It very simply provides the best provider benefit and the best patient benefit for home oxygen therapy,” he said.

The company recently announced that it raised $4.35 million in the first closing of a $5 million private placement to finance the launch of the Eclipse and expand its staff.

SeQual also said it has applied for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to allow patients to take the Eclipse aboard aircraft. Currently, Airsep’s Lifestyle and Inogen’s Inogen One are the only approved systems.