• Checkpoint Surgical

  Participated · Equity · Dec 2015

  Checkpoint Surgical is a privately held Cleveland-based medical device company that develops proprietary neurostimulation technology to protect, assess, and repair motor nerves during surgery. Its nerve stimulation devices inform intraoperative decision making to help surgeons safely protect and repair peripheral nerves. The company works alongside surgeons on research, education and innovative product development and maintains a substantial multi-disciplinary R&D team. Checkpoint has a specialized, dedicated sales force of 30 and growing to commercialize its products. The company plans multiple new product launches, including the recently acquired NeuroShield nerve wrap, and will use funding to expand its sales team and continue R&D. Financially, Checkpoint completed a $16M equity financing led by River Cities Capital with participation from existing backers and other investors. Checkpoint Surgical develops neurostimulation medical devices intended to protect and repair nerves intraoperatively across the anatomy. The company’s core products have moved from acceptance to adoption throughout the surgical community and the business has experienced strong revenue growth this year. The $8.8M financing will be used to expand sales and marketing resources, advance new product and market opportunities in nerve regeneration and neuroma pain, and bolster the executive team. As part of the growth plan, Checkpoint hired industry veteran Derek Lewis to head operations, research and development and earlier added Rick DiBlasi as Vice President of Sales. The company is privately held and based in Cleveland, Ohio, and positions itself to build a significant business in a large, high-growth nerve protection and repair market. Checkpoint Surgical is a Cleveland, OH-based provider of neurodevices that locate and identify nerves and evaluate nerve and muscle function during surgery. The company offers handheld nerve monitoring solutions featuring ergonomic neurostimulation technology to support safe intraoperative nerve repair. It has two FDA-cleared products: the Checkpoint Stimulator/Locator for a wide range of surgical applications and the Checkpoint Head & Neck Stimulator for head and neck procedures. Checkpoint currently serves over 200 hospitals. Led by President and CEO Len Cosentino, the company plans to use new capital to grow in orthopedic and head and neck markets, expand into new procedure markets and develop additional products. Financially, Checkpoint completed a $7.5M first financing round to support those initiatives. Checkpoint Surgical develops intraoperative neurostimulation devices, principally the CHECKPOINT® Stimulator/Locator, a hand-held nerve and muscle stimulator launched in 2010. The device helps surgeons locate, identify and evaluate nerves to facilitate nerve preservation and repair. Founded in 2009 and led by CEO and president Len Cosentino, the company sells its products in the U.S. via direct sales and distributors. Checkpoint completed a $1.7M Series B in December 2011 and has also secured over $1.3M in non-dilutive funding. Non-dilutive support includes a $1.065M Innovation Ohio loan and a $245k federal grant. The company is using the funding to support sales and marketing efforts and new product development. Checkpoint Surgical offers the Checkpoint Stimulator/Locator, a handheld disposable device that stimulates motor nerves during surgery to help surgeons avoid nerve injury and assess nerve and muscle health. The device received FDA clearance in October 2009. Early pilots were run at more than a dozen hospitals and surgical centers across Ohio, Missouri, New York, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, with product purchases by 10 hospitals. The company is commercially launching nationally, selling via phone, online and independent distributors, and recently hired Stephen Jacobs as vice president of sales to build a nationwide sales force. Checkpoint aims to have 100 representatives in healthcare centers by year-end and is initially targeting orthopedic and plastic surgery, with additional applications in trauma, otolaryngology and neurosurgery. To support commercialization and sales expansion, the company raised $1.1 million from JumpStart Inc., private investors and company managers and an additional $250,000 from the Medical Growth Fund. Manufacturing of the device has been transferred to Delta Systems Inc. in Streetsboro, Ohio.

• SPR Therapeutics

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2013

  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.

No current team members are available.