Vertos Medical, Inc., a privately held medical device manufacturer focusing on minimally invasive treatment for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS), today announced that the company has closed a Series C financing round of $12 million with leading venture capital firms active in medical technology. The lead investors were CHL Medical Partners and Foundation Medical Partners and were joined in the round by previous investors Aweida Venture Partners and DFJ Mercury. In connection with the financing, Myles Greenberg, M.D. of CHL and Andrew Firlik, M.D. of Foundation have joined Vertos’ Board of Directors.
The proceeds of the recent round will be used to expand the Vertos product portfolio and support the commercial launch of the company’s proprietary MILD™ devices. The MILD (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression) procedure, is a simple, percutaneous, fluoroscopically guided treatment for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). MILD can be performed under local anesthesia and substantially reduces the tissue damage and removal associated with other minimally invasive or open surgeries. LSS is diagnosed in over 1.5 million Americans each year. Vertos has obtained FDA clearance for sale of the MILD devices in the U.S.
Concurrent to the closing of the financing round, the company announced clinical results in 32 patients with moderate to severe LSS. All patients were discharged either the same day or the day following the MILD procedure. These patients were treated at 11 leading medical centers. Some of these results were presented at a recent spine surgery conference in Los Cabos, Mexico; reported were a 90% decrease in pain as measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), as well as improved mobility, represented by a decrease in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) of 84%. No complications or adverse events were reported, and all patients had discontinued the use of narcotics or pain medication at 6 weeks following the MILD procedure.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with CHL and Foundation in this financing round, which will provide Vertos with the resources to expand our clinical studies and support a full commercial launch of the MILD procedure in the U.S. Moreover, it will also enable Vertos to continue its leadership position in percutaneous treatment of patients with LSS.” said Richard Johnson, M.D., Vertos’ Chief Executive Officer.
“Vertos is pioneering a very exciting new treatment for LSS utilizing the gold standard technique of decompression through a novel, minimally invasive approach. We are looking forward to working with Vertos’ talented management team to make this less invasive treatment widely available to those suffering with this painful and debilitating condition,” commented Dr. Myles Greenberg, Partner at CHL.
About Vertos Medical, Inc.
Vertos is a San Jose, CA based medical device company founded in 2005 which is commercializing an innovative, percutaneous treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis. LSS is a painful and debilitating condition diagnosed in over 1,500,000 people each year in the U.S. The MILD procedure developed by Vertos is an exciting, new, and less-invasive treatment method for these patients, many of whom are elderly. For further information about Vertos or the MILD procedure, please contact CEO Richard Johnson via e-mail at rjohnson@vertosmed.com, telephone 914-391-5160 or visit http://www.vertosmed.com.
About CHL Medical Partners
CHL Medical Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm founded in 1990 and based in Stamford, CT. The firm manages funds with committed capital of more than $300 million. CHL invests primarily in start-up and early stage companies across the U.S. in biotechnology, medical devices, and healthcare services. The principals of CHL have invested in numerous successful companies including GeneOhm Sciences (acquired by Becton Dickinson), Incyte Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INCY), NuVasive (Nasdaq: NUVA), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN), Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG), Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD), SemperCare (acquired by Select Medical), Genomic Health (Nasdaq: GHDX), Odyssey Healthcare (Nasdaq: ODSY), and Ameripath (acquired by Quest Diagnostics). For more information, visit http://www.chlmedical.com.
About Foundation Medical Partners
Foundation Medical Partners is a national venture capital investment firm that brings together cutting edge clinical expertise with deep company building experience. Foundation specializes in early stage venture capital for healthcare technology companies. Foundation was an early venture investor in AtriCure (Nasdaq: ATRC), CardioNet (Nasdaq: BEAT), CombinatoRx (Nasdaq: CRXX), and Northstar Neuroscience (Nasdaq: NSTR), as well as a portfolio of other firms, such as CardioMEMS, CoApt Systems, EndoGastric Solutions, IlluminOss, Marinus Pharmaceuticals, NeuroVista, and Spine Wave, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.foundmed.com.
Contacts:
Richard Johnson, CEO, 914-391-5160
rjohnson@vertosmed.com
