Ceterix Orthopaedics, Inc. has raised $18 million in a new round of funding to expand the market for its minimally invasive surgical tools.
The technology enables surgeons to place stitches in very tight joint compartments, while protecting sensitive surrounding structures such as nerves, arteries and cartilage. This technology has applications in numerous procedures in knees, hips, and shoulders.
The company, formerly known as SuturePro Technologies, Inc. released its first product last year, aimed initially at helping doctors fix tears of the knee’s meniscus, rather than removing the cartilage and potentially damaging nerves and other structures. According to the company, more than 100 physicians in the U.S. use the tools.
The procedure was developed by Justin Saliman, M.D. an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
“Due to the difficulty of access and the limitations of current arthroscopic instruments, the vast majority of meniscal tears are not repaired but are either partially or totally resected, ” said John McCutcheon, Ceterix’s president and CEO, in a 2013 press release. “This means that almost a million patients each year are undergoing procedures that will significantly increase their risk of osteoarthritis later in life.”
Previous investors Novo A/S, Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures participated in the round, which also included debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance. Armentum Partners acted as financial advisor to Ceterix in the transaction.
In addition, Ceterix announced the issuance of two key U.S. patents, related to methods of meniscal and soft tissue repair with its proprietary technology.
The Menlo Park, California, company, founded in 2010, was backed by investors Novo Ventures, Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures with $19.5 million in a Series B venture financing in January 2013.
Kevin Stone, M.D., a San Francisco knee surgeon and advocate of biologic solutions for knee repair, told OTW, “While we love tools that help us place sutures in hard to reach places, buyers beware. As orthopedic surgeons we are good at continually coming up with novel ways to do it and the patent protection on our small iterations is very vulnerable. Translated: you will see multiple variations each year. So exit quickly.” Dr. Stone is the founder of Aperion Biologics, Inc.
To view a video of the procedure, click here: http://www.ceterix.com/suture-passing/
