A Medical Device Daily
Gynesonics (Redwood City, California), developer of the VizAblate system, a minimally invasive device to treat uterine fibroid tumors, reported that it has completed a $16.5 million private equity financing.
The Series B financing was led by Advanced Technology Ventures and joined by InterWest Partners and Abingworth Management.
In conjunction with the financing, the company also reported that Tom Rodgers of Advanced Technology Ventures and Linda Grais, MD of InterWest Partners have joined its board of directors.
Jessica Grossman, MD, president and Founder of Gynesonics, said, “These funds will allow us to complete our product development and begin our U.S. FDA clinical trial later this year.”
The VizAblate system, a disposable, hand-held device, combines ultrasound imaging, to allow the gynecologist to identify fibroids, with radio frequency energy to ablate the tumor.
In addition to a simple procedure for the physician, the same-day-out patient treatment should be easier for the patient and at a far lower cost for insurers, Gynesonics said.
The Gynesonics system is not yet approved for sale in the U.S.
Sermo (Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported the closing of a $9.5 million round of Series B funding. This latest round is led by new investor SoftBank Capital, with additional funds from existing investor Longworth Venture Partners who initially funded the company.
Sermo said that the proceeds will be used to further develop the Sermo community, which it said “has grown dramatically” since its launch in late September 2006.
It reported that, to date, almost 6,000 doctors from the 50 states in more than 30 different specialties have joined this medical forum “to share insights, learn from each other’s experiences, and most importantly, discuss how they can improve patient care.”
It said that the Sermo community is increasing by 400-600 physicians every week.
Sermo said that the new funds would allow it to keep pace “with the growing physician demand for new features and functionality.”
Sermo said: “By expanding medical discussions to include a diverse community of thousands of physicians, rather than limiting it to a select few, Sermo is accelerating the discovery of emerging trends and new insights into medications, devices, and treatments.”
The company said the additional funding would be used to develop new client interfaces to capture early insights and trends as they happen on Sermo. Based on a system of information arbitrage, the business model allows government health organizations, financial services firms and industry analysts to access real-time information coming directly from the front lines of medicine — all through a customized web interface designed to meet their specific interests.
In other financings news, Invacare (Elyria, Ohio) said that it intends to offer its senior notes, due 2015, and its convertible senior subordinated debentures due 2027 to qualified institutional buyers
The company said it also is negotiating a new senior secured credit facility and expects that, together with the debt securities, the new financing program will result in total capacity of about $700 million.
The company said it intends to use the proceeds of the offerings of the debt securities and the proposed senior secured credit facility to refinance substantially all of its existing indebtedness.
Invacare makes home and long-term care medical products.