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| Flowonix's Prometra--Courtesy of Flowonix |
Implantable pump maker Flowonix Medical announced $15.5 million in financing on Wednesday, including $5 million in venture term debt financing and a $10.5 million investment, led by Clarus Ventures and other existing investors.
The company previously raised $40 million in November 2014, of which $20 million came from equity investment, $15 million from debt financing and an accounts receivable line credit of up to $5 million from Hercules Technology Growth Capital ($HTGC). And in May 2012, the devicemaker picked up $25 million in financing from RFT Investment, Clarus, OmniCapital Fund and other investors.
Flowonix plans to build up sales and marketing infrastructure with the new funding, it said in a statement. It will also continue to support the expansion of its Prometra II infusion pump by increasing its manufacturing capacity.
"The commercial success of the Prometra II Programmable Pump System over the last few years has enabled the company to secure this financing," said Flowonix CEO Larry Heaton in a statement. "The added resources will allow us to accelerate that growth trajectory."
The FDA approved the New Jersey-based company's Prometra system in 2012 and gave its follow-up, the Prometra II system, a PMA approval in January 2015. The device delivers pain medication via catheter directly to the fluid around the spinal cord. This allows the medication to bypass the bloodstream and reduce side effects for some patients taking oral pain medication. While competitor Medtronic ($MDT) makes an infusion pump too, Flowonix's device boasts a 10-year-plus battery life, which reduces the number of pump replacements a patient would need to undergo.
In late 2014, Flowonix filed a regulatory submission for an MRI-compatible upgrade to Prometra. At the time, CEO Steve Adler didn't disclose a timeline and said that he didn't expect the FDA to request a clinical trial, FierceDrugDelivery reported. Because metallic devices, such as infusion pumps and pacemakers, can injure patients undergoing MRI, an MRI-compatible pump would give Flowonix a significant leg up over the competition.
Flowonix's newest product, the Patient Therapy Controller, got the FDA OK last August. It is a small handheld device with a touchscreen that connects with the Prometra system to allow a patient to trigger bolus delivery of pain medication from the implant. This adds the ability to address breakthrough pain to the Prometra's chronic pain management capabilities.
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