Participated · Series B · Feb 2020

Aria CV develops an implantable device that mimics the function of a healthy pulmonary artery without batteries, pumps or electronics. A short-term study of 18 patients in Vienna showed effectiveness across pulmonary hypertension and other heart and lung diseases, including COPD. The company plans to seek FDA approval to expand into those populations and will conduct a small 90-day trial pending approval of recent device modifications. It currently has 16 employees and plans to grow to about 25 over the next year. Aria CV was founded in 2010 as a University of Minnesota spinoff by John Scandurra and Karl Vollmers and is St. Paul-based. To date it has raised around $60 million, including a $31 million Series B that closed in 2020. Aria CV develops the Aria CV Pulmonary Hypertension System, an implanted device designed to restore the benefits of a healthy, elastic pulmonary artery to reduce cardiac workload and improve blood flow in PAH patients. The company says the system has the potential to improve both duration and quality of life as well as healthcare economics. Aria completed a successful acute first-in-human clinical study in Vienna, Austria and is preparing for a U.S. Early Feasibility Investigational Study to evaluate long-term implants. The Aria CV PH System was granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expedite review and approval. Aria recently closed a $31 million Series B round of financing to fund its first clinical study in the United States. Management states the funding and strategic investor support position the company to drive its clinical research forward.

Led · Series C · Sep 2017

SPR Therapeutics is a medical device company focused on providing non-opioid, minimally invasive pain treatments. Its core product, the SPRINT® PNS System, is a 60-day peripheral nerve stimulation therapy cleared for use up to 60 days and studied for low back, shoulder, post-amputation, and post-operative pain. The system is intended to recondition the central nervous system to deliver sustained pain relief without a permanent implant, nerve destruction, or risk of addiction. The device is indicated for symptomatic relief of chronic, intractable pain and various post-surgical and post-traumatic acute pains, but is not intended for cranial and facial nerve regions. Following an $85M financing (a $25M Series D-1 insider equity and a $60M debt facility), SPR plans to use proceeds to expand U.S. sales representation into additional territories and to support continued product development. The company is led by President, CEO and Founder Maria Bennett and is headquartered in Cleveland, OH with satellite offices in Chapel Hill, NC and Minneapolis, MN. SPR Therapeutics commercializes the FDA-cleared SPRINT® Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System, a restorative 60-day treatment designed to provide significant and sustained pain relief without permanent implants, nerve destruction, or opioids. The SPRINT system is positioned for early use in the care continuum and has been studied for low back, shoulder, knee, post-operative, and post-amputation neuropathic pain. SPR says clinical trials and more than 30 peer-reviewed publications demonstrate improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and reduced opioid use. The company reports rapid commercial uptake — use more than doubled in the past year and the system has treated over 6,500 patients. SPR also holds over 200 issued and pending patents and emphasizes a large body of clinical evidence underpinning its offering. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, with satellite offices in Chapel Hill, NC and Minneapolis, MN, SPR plans to expand commercial reach, support additional clinical research, and advance next-generation technology backed by new financing. SPR Therapeutics, based in Cleveland, Ohio, develops neurostimulation technologies for chronic and acute pain. Its FDA-cleared SPRINT® Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) system uses a threadlike wire placed through the skin connected to a wearable stimulator to activate target nerve fibers, offering a non-narcotic alternative without permanent implants or tissue destruction. The company plans to use the Series C proceeds to commercialize the SPRINT PNS system and to fund additional research across multiple indications, including post-surgical acute pain and chronic low back pain. SPR is led by founder, CEO and president Maria Bennett. The board recently added Nick Valeriani, an experienced healthcare leader who previously served as CEO of West Health and held executive roles at Johnson & Johnson. Prior to this round, SPR had approximately $10 million in prior equity financing and has received nearly $23 million in non-dilutive funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. SPR Therapeutics has developed a proprietary peripheral nerve stimulation technology platform aimed at treating acute and chronic joint pain and post-amputation pain. Its investigational SPR™ System positions electrodes in proximity to, but not directly contacting, peripheral nerves and is limited by U.S. law to investigational use. The platform includes two products: the SMARTPATCH™ system, intended for use up to 30 days, and the fully implantable MICROPULSE® system for long-term pain management if pain returns after Smartpatch therapy. The company plans to use new funding to commercialize its pain therapies built on this technology. SPR was founded in January 2010 as a portfolio company of NDI Medical, LLC and is led by President and CEO Maria Bennett. The company raised $5m in Series A financing to support those commercialization efforts. SPR Therapeutics makes a generator-based neurostimulation system that electrically stimulates a peripheral nerve to exercise a muscle and treat pain. The system is initially aimed at reducing shoulder pain in patients who have suffered strokes. Company leadership frames the device as a platform technology that could be applied to treat pain in multiple areas of the body. SPR has applied for the CE Mark and may receive European regulatory approval soon. Financially, SPR raised a $2.2 million Series A earlier in the year and has been approved for a $900,000 loan from the Ohio Department of Development to commercialize the technology and fund machinery, molds, tooling, and IP protection costs.