Pittsburgh's Cohera Medical has secured more than $25 million in Series C financing through new and existing investors. The company will use the funds to expand adoption in Germany and other European markets for its lead product, the TissuGlu surgical adhesive, which is used for large flap surgeries, such as abdominoplasty. The funds will also be used to support the clinical trials for TissuGlu in the U.S.
Cohera recently received CE Mark approval for TissuGlu and began selling it to hospitals and surgeons in Germany in September. The company plans to expand the commercial availability of TissuGlu to additional European markets early next year and is also actively pursuing a regulatory sign off in the U.S.
"In its first two months, TissuGlu has been used successfully in over 160 plastic surgery procedures in Germany by leading plastic and reconstructive surgeons," said John Kern, founder and general partner of Kern Whelan Capital and manager of Kern Medical III. "We believe that TissuGlu has the potential to fundamentally transform the patient recovery process worldwide, across many types of surgical procedures, while saving surgeons significant time and money through the reduction of post-surgical complications."
As it has been pitching its product to investors, a number of large companies expressed interest in buying Cohera, but President and CEO Patrick Daly demurred. "Being smart entrepreneurs, we listened and got an investment banker and went through the process with different companies," Daly said, as quoted by the Pittsburgh Business Times. "We liked what we were hearing and had a tentative offer, but we thought there was more value to create as a company now than to move forward with any (acquisitions or partnerships)."
It also has helped that the company has been able to raise money. "We raised the right amount and saw it wasn't the right time to sell," Daly said, as quoted by the Business Times. "So we decided to go it alone and we will continue to add value and if someone wants to come back," they can.
The global market for cosmetic surgery and treatments exceeds $30 billion, with a sustainable compound annual growth rate in the range of 25%, the company said, citing figures from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
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