• Mevion Medical Systems

  Participated · Equity · Aug 2015

  Mevion develops and sells compact proton therapy systems, including the HYPERSCAN™ pencil beam scanning solution that uses the Adaptive Aperture™ proton MLC. The company positions HYPERSCAN as a breakthrough in proton therapy and already has clinical use at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, with installations at an NCI‑Designated Cancer Center in the U.S. and the MAASTRO Clinic in the Netherlands. Mevion reports strong commercial interest in the United States and Europe and is negotiating additional units in Asia, with two additional centers in final design. The $150 million financing will be used to further distance Mevion’s technological leadership, expand manufacturing capacity to meet increased interest, and support expansion into emerging markets and the Asia Pacific region. The transaction also clears existing debt and optimizes the shareholder structure. The new and existing investor group collectively manages over $10 billion in assets, providing a long‑term capital base. Mevion Medical Systems is a leading provider of proton therapy systems whose flagship product is the MEVION S250, the only modular single‑room proton therapy system currently on the market. The MEVION S250 delivers targeted radiation therapy at a fraction of the size, operating costs and energy use of legacy systems, with a single‑room footprint of about 2,000 sq. ft. and high operational efficiency. Mevion has installed systems at Barnes‑Jewish Hospital, Ackerman Cancer Center, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and achieved rapid patient ramp‑up (first 100 patients in 11 months; ACC reached 350 patients/year in under three months; RWJ treated its first patient less than four weeks after ACC). The company is privately held and based in Littleton, Massachusetts, with international offices in the United Kingdom and Japan. Mevion announced an investment agreement for up to $200 million to accelerate worldwide expansion and to increase manufacturing capacity and global service capability to support new installations in the U.S., China and internationally. Concurrent with the investment, Mevion and the lead investors will form a joint venture in China to produce, sell and service proton therapy systems for the Chinese market. Mevion Medical Systems develops and supplies the MEVION S250, a single-room proton therapy system designed to deliver precise radiation with a reduced size and lower implementation cost compared with legacy proton systems. The MEVION S250 preserves the clinical benefits of traditional proton therapy while offering improved reliability, efficient clinical workflow, and a footprint similar to modern X-ray radiation therapy devices. The system is FDA-cleared for clinical use and the first MEVION S250 is installed at the S. Lee Kling Center for Proton Therapy at Barnes Jewish Hospital/Washington University Medical Center, currently undergoing clinical acceptance and commissioning. Mevion reports five centers under installation and construction and more than a dozen centers under planning, positioning the company for wider deployment. The company says its technology makes proton therapy more accessible and practical for hospitals and patients, including pediatric and high‑risk cases. To support this expansion, Mevion has raised additional capital to accelerate deployment of the MEVION S250 in the U.S. and internationally. Mevion Medical Systems is the developer of the MEVION S250 Proton Therapy System, a compact proton beam radiation device powered by a TriNiobium Core designed to reduce cost, size and complexity compared with traditional proton systems. The company says the S250 preserves the treatment benefits of proton therapy while improving accessibility and practicality for wider clinical deployment. Mevion has delivered its first system and has two additional systems under installation. The MEVION S250 had not yet been cleared by the U.S. FDA for clinical use at the time of the announcement. The company announced a $45 million investment to accelerate manufacturing and worldwide deployment of the S250. Mevion was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in the Boston metropolitan area, with international offices in the United Kingdom and Japan.

• Vertos Medical

  Participated · Series E · Jun 2013

  Vertos Medical develops minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis, centered on its mild Procedure. The company offers a procedure that targets chronic low back pain and has treated more than 70,000 patients in the United States. Demand for the mild Procedure is increasing significantly. Vertos plans to use new capital to expand patient access and to support research and development aimed at advancing care for chronic low back pain. The financing strengthens its commercial expansion efforts and capacity to scale adoption. Vertos positions itself to make a meaningful impact on mobility and quality of life for older adults with LSS. Vertos Medical Inc. is a medical device company committed to developing innovative, minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Its proprietary mild® technology is described as a safe, minimally invasive outpatient procedure that restores space in the spinal canal through an incision smaller than the size of a baby aspirin. The company emphasizes outpatient, low‑invasiveness approaches for LSS treatment. The announcement notes a significant equity investment from Partner Ventures. No financing size, operating metrics, or additional financial details were provided in the article. The company website is referenced for more information. Vertos Medical, based in Aliso Viejo, California, develops innovative, minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Its core product is the mild® procedure, an outpatient, fluoroscopically guided therapeutic LSS treatment that requires no general anesthesia, no implants, and no stitches. The mild procedure restores space in the spinal canal by removing hypertrophic ligamentum flavum through a 5.1-mm treatment portal using specialized devices. The company intends to use the financing to expand commercialization of mild® and to support physician training and education to broaden patient access. The company is led by President and CEO Eric Wichems. Vertos Medical recently closed a financing to support these commercial and training initiatives. Vertos Medical, based in Aliso Viejo, CA, develops and commercializes mild, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). mild is performed through an incision the size of a baby aspirin, requires no general anesthesia, no implants and no stitches, and its efficacy and safety have been demonstrated in 11 clinical studies and more than 16 peer‑reviewed articles. Since receiving FDA 510(k) clearance in 2008, more than 15,000 people in the U.S. have been treated with mild, and the procedure has a reported 81% positive‑response rate. Vertos positions mild as a low‑cost, durable alternative to other LSS treatments, aiming to reduce complications and recovery time compared with open back surgery. The company announced it has closed nearly $23 million in a Series E financing led by Pitango Venture Capital to support commercial growth. Proceeds will be used for U.S. commercial expansion and to launch mild in European markets. Vertos Medical develops the mild procedure, a proprietary minimally invasive treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). The mild procedure targets a large underserved group: patients who no longer respond to medical management but are not yet candidates for traditional invasive surgeries. The company is Aliso Viejo, CA-based and led by president and chief executive officer James M. Corbett. Vertos will use the Series D proceeds to continue U.S. commercialization of its mild technology. Company leadership described the financing as an important milestone and recognition of the market potential of the mild procedure.

• Ambra Health

  Participated · Equity · May 2012

  Ambra Health (fka Dicom Grid) provides a SaaS-based cloud medical image and data management platform used by over 750 healthcare providers, including the Mayo Clinic, Stanford Children’s Hospital and Memorial Hermann. The platform targets large health systems, radiology practices, subspecialty practices and clinical research organizations to improve imaging and collaborative care workflows. Ambra secured an additional $6M in venture capital funding and has now raised $39M in total. The company plans to use the new funds to ramp up sales and marketing efforts and accelerate product development. Ambra has also launched Think RADical, an advisory series of in-person and online events to drive innovation in medical imaging; the first event was scheduled for September 29, 2016 in New York City. The company is led by CEO Morris Panner and Chief Product Officer Ed Marshall. DICOM Grid offers a cloud-based platform for medical image management and exchange that streamlines image sharing and connects patients, care providers, and facilities worldwide. The company’s suite is designed to simplify the medical image exchange process across hospital systems, private practices, imaging centers, clinical research organizations and health information exchanges. DICOM Grid works with hospital systems such as the Mayo Clinic, Barrow Neurological Institute and Rush University Medical Center. Led by CEO Morris Panner, the company plans to use new capital to ramp up sales and marketing and accelerate product development. Financially, the company has raised $34M in total funding and has just secured additional venture debt. The new capital is intended to support commercialization and product advancement efforts. DICOM Grid develops a cloud software-as-a-service platform called DG Suite for medical imaging applications. Led by CEO Morris Panner, the company provides tools to manage diagnostic imaging and related health data. Its platform allows clinicians and patients real-time access to images such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs on any device and enables uploads from CDs using conventional PCs or Macs. DG Suite is operating at more than 40 hospitals throughout the United States. The company closed a $5m financing and intends to use the funds to expand distribution of DG Suite. Backers on the round include Canaan Partners, CHL Medical Partners and existing individual investors. DICOM Grid offers ImageCare™, a cloud-based platform designed to make digital medical imaging accessible to facilities and physicians. The platform aims to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance quality of care in medical imaging workflows. The company plans to use the new financing to accelerate market expansion and product development. The Series A funding will support scaling the platform and broadening customer adoption. As part of the financing, experienced investors have joined the board to guide growth and product strategy. No operating metrics or prior financing details were disclosed in the article.

• OpGen

  Participated · Equity · Mar 2012

  OpGen develops molecular tests and bioinformatics, including its Acuitas MDRO Gene tests, focused on multi-drug resistant organisms and rapid diagnostics. The company announced a $6 million financing from the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund to further its molecular information business and rapid diagnostics to guide antibiotic therapy. OpGen also acquired AdvanDx, gaining a family of FDA-approved and CE-marked rapid molecular tests that complement its Acuitas tests and bioinformatics. The company is described as early commercial-stage and aims to expand its revenue, customer base and global reach using the new tools and funding. OpGen is a portfolio company of Harris & Harris Group. OpGen, based in Gaithersburg, Md., is a commercial-stage company that provides rapid whole-genome analysis systems and services. Its products include the Argus® Whole Genome Mapping System, the Genome-Builder™ tool suite, and MapIt® services for sequence assembly, strain typing, and comparative genomics. The company says its technology improves data quality and time-to-results by providing sequence information from single DNA molecules more rapidly and less expensively than previously possible. OpGen serves genomic research centers, biodefense organizations, academic institutions, CROs, and biotech companies, with customers including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Genome Institute at Washington University, Beijing Genomics Institute, and the University of Maryland Institute for Genome Sciences. OpGen plans to accelerate commercialization of Argus and Genome-Builder and intends to introduce a new whole human chromosome mapping application that, when combined with next-generation sequencing, can improve human genome sequencing accuracy and enable discovery of structural variations. Financially, the company has reached agreement to raise up to $17 million in a growth capital financing to support these commercial and product-development efforts. OpGen is a commercial‑phase genomics company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Its core product is the Argus™ Optical Mapping System, commercially launched in June 2010 to investigate microbial structure, function, diversity and genetics. The company completed a $17M Series B equity financing to support marketing of the Argus system. Proceeds will also accelerate initiatives to expand into new markets and to develop new applications that complement sequencing technologies. OpGen intends the funding to help facilitate completion of large genome mapping and finishing technologies currently under development. In conjunction with the financing, jVen Capital’s Evan Jones will lead OpGen’s board as executive chairman; he was previously a board member and served as interim CEO.

• BioRelix

  Participated · Equity · Jan 2012

  BioRelix Inc., based in New Haven, Connecticut, is developing antibiotics using a riboswitch-based drug discovery platform. Riboswitches are short stretches of mRNA that bind small molecules and control genes essential for the survival of many human pathogens, and BioRelix targets these as novel anti-infective drug targets. The company’s most advanced program is an antibiotic for a hospital-acquired infection. BioRelix also has a research collaboration with a subsidiary of Merck & Co. to identify new antibacterial drug candidates. Financially, the company is completing a funding round of approximately $2.5M that includes a $269,160 follow-on investment from Connecticut Innovations via its Eli Whitney Fund; CI previously invested $500,000 in December 2011. Other investors include CHL Medical Partners, Novartis Bioventures, New Leaf Ventures, Aisling Capital, Elm Street Ventures and Alexandria Equities. BioRelix develops new anti-infective drugs using a riboswitch-based drug discovery platform derived from work by co-founder Ronald Breaker at Yale. The company is led by CEO Brian Dixon and is focused on antibiotics discovery and development. Its most advanced program is an antibiotic targeting a hospital-acquired infection. BioRelix is also engaged in a research collaboration with a subsidiary of Merck & Co. to identify new antibacterial candidates. The company raised $4.244M in funding to advance its programs, with participation from multiple strategic and venture investors. The platform centers on riboswitches—short stretches of mRNA that bind small molecules and control genes essential for pathogen survival. BioRelix is developing novel antibiotics that target common stretches of bacterial RNA which control many functions essential for bacterial survival. The company says this RNA-targeting approach could enable new mechanisms of antibacterial action. BioRelix raised $25.75 million in its first funding round. The financing included New Leaf Venture Partners, Aisling Capital, CHL Medical Partners, Novartis Venture Fund, Elm Street Ventures and Alexandria Real Estate Equities. Its interim CEO told VentureWire the funding should allow the company to push a drug candidate into human tests by late 2009 or early 2010. The company is based in New Haven, Conn.

No current team members are available.