Axonics Modulation Technologies got itself a $32.6 million Series A funding round that will help advance its implantable neuromodulation technology into human clinical studies to treat a variety of conditions.
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| Axonics CEO Raymond Cohen--FierceMedicalDevices file photo |
In doing so, the California startup answers the question: What happens to some executives when the promising company they start and build gets snatched up by a larger rival? Answer: They launch another company. Axonics, in its funding announcement, noted that its founders include Vessix Vascular's former senior management team--Axonics CEO Raymond Cohen, Chief Operating and Financial Officer Dan Dearen and Michael Williamson, senior vice president and general counsel, among them. Vessix was a renal denervation player and 2012 Fierce 15 company, and Boston Scientific ($BSX) snatched it up in late 2012 for $425 million.
That veteran team and the other Axonics founders helped attract an impressive Series A round, which is structured as a preferred stock financing. Another selling point that drew in the investment: Axonics licensed its core tech from the Alfred Mann Foundation, a California nonprofit that focuses on bringing advanced medical technology to the public. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners of Paris, France, led the round, which also included Geneva-based NeoMed Management, Beijing's Legend Capital (venture capital arm of Legend Holdings) and a number of private investors.
Cohen, who was also CEO of Vessix, told FierceMedicalDevices via email that it took three months "to complete the due diligence associated with this funding round," and that "we only approached the investors that actually invested in the round. We did not shop the deal." He added that the level of the Series A funding stands out in a time when med tech companies struggle to attract substantial early-stage investment.
"I believe this is a testament to (a) the quality of the management team (the senior team is fresh from selling Vessix to Boston Scientific in November 2012, and each of us has over 25 years experience in the med tech field) and (b), the pedigree of the Alfred Mann Foundation," he told us.
The Alfred Mann Foundation launched nearly 30 years ago, founded by serial healthcare entrepreneur Alfred E. Mann. It has spurred the development of medical devices including cochlear implants, implantable myoelectric sensors that help amputees control robotic prosthetics with their thoughts, and neuro devices designed to help manage pain.
Axonics' executives see their miniaturized implantable neuromodualtion technology as useful, initially, to treat conditions including chronic pain and overactive bladder. Cohen told FierceMedicalDevices that the funding will help complete product development and advance into clinical studies beginning in the first half of 2015. The first trial will likely take place in European centers, and if all goes well, plans call for launching U.S. clinical testing under an approved IDE, Cohen said. Testing will focus on establishing the safety and efficacy of Axonics' neuromodulation system, and the company also opened a European subsidiary to support trial efforts there.
Cohen said he expects Axonics will pursue a CE mark first, as "it has been our experience that a CE mark in the EU is easier to secure as a first step."
The company notes that neuromodulation treatments generated nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2013 and sees the market as tripling by 2020.
With the new funding, Axionics expects to staff up to about 30 people. The Irvine, CA, startup launched in October 2013.
- read the release
Special Report: FierceMedicalDevices' 2012 Fierce 15 - Vessix Vascular