Mindmaze SA raised $125 million in a debt financing round led by Albacore Capital Group to expand its virtual reality-based digital neurotherapeutics platform. Total funding for Mindmaze now exceeds $235.7 million to date. Investors include the Hinduja Group, Venture Kick, the Foundation for Technological Innovation, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The Mindmaze platform assesses and restores cognitive and motor function in individuals who have sustained neural injuries or impairment from degeneration and aging.
Limbix Health Inc. released data demonstrating a 21% remission rate and 29% response rate for Sparkrx, its prescription digital therapeutic, in adolescents who completed the program as recommended. The company presented study results on Oct. 8 at the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference in San Francisco.
Two innovators in the concussion assessment space have advanced their products with new funding and new clearances. Brainscope Co. Inc. secured $35 million in capital through an intellectual property-based funding arrangement with Aon plc to expand access to and develop new applications for its EEG-based product. Syncthink Inc. received a second FDA clearance for its Eye-Sync platform for mild traumatic brain injury diagnosis.
Boston Scientific Corp. agreed to acquire the Baylis Medical Company Inc.’s cardiology business, Baylis Medical Co., for an upfront payment of $1.75 billion, subject to closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Baylis Medical Technologies, which focuses on radiology and neurosurgery, is not part of the deal and will remain a separate entity.
Innerscope Hearing Technologies Inc. acquired the assets and operations of Ihear Medical Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal significantly boosts Innerscope’s position in the emerging market of direct-to-consumer and over-the-counter hearing products, an important development in the run-up to the FDA’s expected release next month of new regulations for hearing aids that can be sold in stores without a prescription.
Software-as-a-medical device (SaMD) came into its own during the pandemic as digital health applications enabled patients to receive care from home through telemedicine, apps and remote patient monitoring. At the 2021 Medtech Conference, a panel of regulators, advocates and digital health executives discussed how the last 18 months may permanently change the regulation of these devices, the steps manufacturers can take to secure the footholds they gained, and how the U.S. CMS can enable digital health to achieve its promise.
A series A fundraising round lifted the mood at Genetikaplus Ltd. (Genetika+), raking in $10 million, a healthy 33% more than the initial target of $7.5 million. Proceeds from the round will go to fund trials of the Jerusalem-based company’s “brain-in-a-dish” technology for evaluating the best antidepressant for each patient. Greybird Ventures led the round, with participation by Meron Capital, Jumpspeed Ventures and Sapir Venture Partners.
Medtronic plc strengthened its suite of products for minimally invasive spine surgery with several new additions. The portfolio provides an integrated solution that includes implants, navigation, robotics, and artificial intelligence to streamline transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), customize treatment for patients and improve outcomes.
With fresh funds and a pivotal trial underway, Sommetrics Inc. may be about to shed its sleeper status. Executives at the Vista, Calif.-based company hope to provide a quiet, effective solution to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that’s less obtrusive and better tolerated than the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines that currently dominate the market.
Nonagen Bioscience Corp. received FDA breakthrough device designation for its liquid biopsy assay designed to predict response to treatment for bladder cancer. The test, Oncuria, measures 10 protein biomarkers in a urine sample and uses an algorithm to predict whether patients will respond to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the first-line treatment for bladder cancer, or should proceed to another treatment option.
