Top 12 Early-Stage Medical Device Startups of 2016 Showcased Strong Growth Potential; Several Now Filing IPOs

Since 2012, transaction volumes for early-stage medical device companies have hovered at around 30% of the total deal volume in this category. In 2016, venture capital and corporate investors continued to invest in medical device startups. Deal activity in this sector is expected to grow in the coming year. Early-stage medical device companies are dedicated to addressing critical challenges at the intersection of surgery, cardiology, neurology, and other disciplines.

Several early-stage startups that have secured funding are currently addressing major challenges in healthcare, ranging from hearing loss and depression to traumatic brain injury. Next, we take a look at 12 companies founded over the past 20 months.

Among them, five prominent medical categories are involved:

· Diagnostics: Click Diagnostics, Owlstone Medical

· Cardiology: Impulse Dynamics, Iowa Approach

· Neurology: Tal Medical, Neural Analytics, IRRAS

· Orthopedics: CyMedica Orthopedics, OssDsign

· Surgery: Gecko Biomedical, Cambridge Medical Robotics

CB Insights has identified 12 highly promising early-stage medical device startups. These 12 companies have received investment or Series A financing since 2015, and the platform has ranked them by total investment amount. Currently, none of these companies have secured Series B financing. VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has provided a complete compiled translation; below is the full list and introduction of these companies:

Investors:Omnes Capital，Sofinnova Partners, BPI France, CapDecisif Management

Total Public Funding:$38.1 million

Gecko Biomedical, founded in Paris, France, focuses primarily on minimally invasive surgical procedures. In the realm of surgical wound closure, the company strives for the revolutionary development and rapid commercialization of biodegradable sealants and adhesives. Gecko Biomedical is currently developing non-toxic products that can strongly adhere to surgical gauze, as well as solutions capable of providing “on-demand” wound closure in the dynamic and “wet” environment of the human body.

Investors:Dr. Peter Lee Ka Kit (Angel Investor)

PublicTotal Financing Amount：$30 million

Impulse Dynamics has developed an electronic therapeutic device for the treatment of chronic heart failure. The Optimizer system, based on Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM) technology, delivers non-excitatory electrical pulses to the heart, inducing various biochemical and neurohormonal changes in the myocardium. This process conditions the cardiac muscle, enabling it to contract appropriately and function effectively without increasing oxygen consumption. The device is currently marketed in Europe.

Investmentpatient：California Technology Ventures, Aphelion Capital, Research Corporation Technologies

Total disclosed financing amount:$23.7 million

Products developed and launched by CyMedica Orthopedics are designed to treat joint injuries and muscle atrophy caused by such injuries. The company’s QB1 Muscle Activation System utilizes electrical stimulation of the neuromuscular system to accelerate physical recovery and muscle rehabilitation. CyMedica Orthopedics is committed to addressing patent challenges associated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The company was the first to employ a closed-loop energy control system to provide patients with comfortable yet highly effective treatment.

Investors:MedVenture Associates, F-Prime Capital, Sante Ventures, Boston Scientific Corporation, Plains Angels

Total Public Financing:$21.5 million

Iowa Approach is a medical device company founded in 2012 that manufactures and distributes innovative basic catheter tools. These products are used for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The company is currently dedicated to improving the safety of atrial fibrillation ablation, making it faster, more convenient, and more affordable, thereby benefiting millions of people.

Investmentpatient：Neomed Ventures, Imperial Innovations, V-Bio Ventures, Consort Medical

Total Public Funding Raised:$20.6 million

Precision Ocular is a startup specializing in retinal therapeutics, dedicated to revolutionizing the technology physicians use to measure ocular surface topography. The company has developed a technology that enhances the safety and efficiency of retinal treatments. This technology enables targeted drug delivery to medical swabs positioned at the posterior segment of ocular tissues. The company will initially focus on conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

Investor: Cambridge Innovation Capital, Escala Capital, ABB Technology Ventures, LGT Capital Partners

PublicTotal Financing Amount: $20.3 million

Cambridge Medical Robotics develops robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery. The company’s mission is to make minimally invasive surgery (keyhole surgery) known and affordable worldwide by expanding the range of surgical procedures that can be performed by robots.

Investmentpatient: Artiman Ventures

PublicTotal Financing Amount:$16 million

The Click Diagnostics expert team places great emphasis on technical excellence and human empathy, and is developing user-centric, technology-first diagnostic approaches. The company’s ultimate goal is to redefine the methods of disease diagnosis and treatment.

Click Diagnostics believes that current diagnostic and therapeutic methods fail to meet today’s healthcare needs. Complex tests are confined to large, costly laboratories, far removed from the patients who need them most.

InvestmentPatient: National Institute of Mental Health, PureTech

PublicTotal Financing Amount:$14.7 million

Tal Medical is a clinical-stage company developing non-invasive, rapid neuromodulation therapies based on low-field magnetic stimulation for the treatment of major depressive disorder and bipolar depression.

InvestmentPatient: MassChallenge, Tech Coast Angels, Tiger Media, JSR

Total Public Funding:$16.3 million

Neural Analytics, founded in 2013, is currently developing an ultrasound-based wearable medical device designed to measure, diagnose, and monitor brain health. The company’s recent research focus has been on traumatic brain injury (TBI), acute ischemic stroke, and dementia. By integrating data science with portable medical robotics, Neural Analytics enables first responders and clinicians to accurately assess mild to severe traumatic brain injuries, including concussions.

InvestmentPatient: SEB Venture Capital, Fouriertransform, Karolinska Development

PublicTotal Financing Amount: $12.8 million

OssDsign, formerly known as Oss-Q, focuses on the research and development of bone substitute implant technologies based on its bioceramic platform. Its lead products under development include OssDsign Cranial, which utilizes titanium-reinforced calcium phosphate brick cranioplasty technology, and OssDsign Facial, which applies a similar foundational technology for facial bone augmentation. Building on the multicenter clinical study of the company’s first product, OssDsign Cranio PSI, efforts will be dedicated to evaluating medical outcomes, quality of life, and health economics.

Investors: Serendipity/ Ixora, The Vandel Group

PublicTotal Financing Amount: $11.3 million

Medical devices developed by IRRAS are designed to address the broad-scale management and fluid control of brain diseases, as well as therapeutic applications and procedures for the central nervous system. The company’s technology, known as IRRAflow, provides superior dynamic control of cerebrospinal fluid flow, integrating monitoring of irrigation and aspiration, precise infusion, and intracranial pressure into a single system.

InvestmentPatient: National Science Foundation, Medtekwiz Advisory

PublicTotal Financing Amount:$9.48 million

Owlstone Medical has developed a breath analyzer using proprietary technology combined with Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS), which is currently undergoing commercial production. This breath analyzer is used for the clinical diagnosis and precision medication of cancer, inflammatory, and infectious diseases. The device can measure metabolites in patients' breath or bodily fluids, which can serve as indicators for certain diseases, such as lung cancer.