Endosense attracted $40.3 million in new Series C financing that demonstrates the increasing interest in catheter ablation to treat cardiac arrhythmias. The Swiss devicemaker already has several products in the space that are on sale or under development, and the new cash infusion will help move along U.S. regulatory efforts and grow its European sales force.
TactiCath--which it bills as the first force-sensing ablation catheter designed to help physicians measure in real time the amount of contact force used during catheter ablation--is a signature product in Europe. That pitch reflects a market becoming more crowded with major competitors, which means that every edge clearly counts. The company itself bills the electrophysiology/atrial fibrillation global market as among the fasted growing areas in cardiovascular intervention.
Major devicemakers--such as Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and St. Jude Medical ($STJ)--are already very active in the space. And other major device players are gunning to follow suit. Among them is Boston Scientific ($BSX), which recently agreed to pay at least $90 million for Rhythmia Medical in order to gain a jump on cardiac catheter ablations and treatments for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.
Endosense plans to use the money to grow a new European direct sales organization and also commercialize the TactiCath in EU countries. It's not approved yet in the U.S., but the funding will also cover the completion of clinical studies and support submission for FDA approval, as well as its hoped-for launch here.
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