Sleep apnea player NightBalance raises $13.9M

By Amirah Al Idrus Jul 5, 2016 9:04am

NightBalance has picked up €12.5 million ($13.9 million) in a Series B round led by INKEF Capital and Gilde Healthcare Partners.

Other participants included existing investors Van Herk Ventures, Health Innovation Fund and Thuja Capital, with Dirk Kersten from INKEF and Pieter van der Meer from Gilde joining NightBalance’s supervisory board, according to a statement.

Delft, Netherlands-based NightBalance will use the funding to build its sales efforts for the Sleep Position Trainer to treat obstructive sleep apnea in Europe, and to prep for the device’s debut in the U.S. It plans to conduct more clinical research in the U.S. and is working on a 510(k) filing, the company said.

Founded in 2009, NightBalance created its flagship Sleep Position Trainer based on research begun at Technical University Delft. It still works closely with a number of TU Delft departments in addition to collaborating with 18 hospitals on research.

“In the EU and U.S. alone, an estimated 25 million people suffer from sleep apnea of which 80% goes undiagnosed or is not helped with current treatments,” said NightBalance CEO Eline Vrijland-van Beest in the statement. The device has the potential to tap the 18 million American adults who have sleep apnea.

The device is worn around the upper body and works by measuring a patient’s sleep behavior continuously. If the wearer rolls over onto his or her back, it vibrates gently, prompting the patient to change position without waking him or her up.

“NightBalance stands out in the emerging field of novel sleep apnea technologies with their continued commitment to generate high-quality and actionable clinical data sets underpinning the ease of use and efficacy of the Sleep Position Trainer,” said Jan Keltjens, who will be appointed chairman of NightBalance’s board.

- here's the statement

obstructive sleep apnea series B Biotech