Portfolio Press Release
Applied Spine Technologies Completes $15 Million Series B Round of Financing
New investors include InterWest Partners and De Novo Ventures, joining Series A investors Oxford Bioscience Partners and BioVentures Investors
Applied Spine Technologies (AST), an emerging spinal technology company, announced today that it has closed on a Series B round of financing. The $15 million Series B was led by InterWest Partners. De Novo Ventures also participated in the round.
AST was founded in February 2004 with Series A funding of $4 million from Oxford Bioscience Partners and BioVentures Investors. AST was formed to commercialize novel technology invented at Yale University to address chronic low back pain, now called the M-Brace(TM) System. The Company's Scientific Founder is Dr. Manohar Panjabi, a world-renowned Professor of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation and Mechanical Engineering at Yale University and a leading authority on spine biomechanics.
"We are delighted to have InterWest Partners and De Novo Ventures join our well established investor group," said Thomas E. Wood, president and chief executive officer of AST. "Back pain patients remain one of the most underserved clinical populations today. AST is now well positioned to advance the development and clinical testing of its M-Brace System for motion preserving spine solutions."
"Applied Spine's technology represents a significant advance in dynamic stabilization. Building upon Dr. Panjabi's foundational scientific research, the M-Brace will offer a less invasive, customized approach to treating back pain while preserving physiologic spine motion," stated Ellen Koskinas, a Principal at InterWest Partners. "We are impressed with the Company's progress to date and the opportunity to offer patients a new standard of care that will be superior to spinal fusion."
Ellen Koskinas will join the AST Board of Directors, effective immediately. AST's Board of Directors also includes: Jeffrey T. Barnes, General Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners; Marc Goldberg, General Partner, BioVentures Investors; Dr. Jon Soderstrom, Managing Director, Yale University Office of Cooperative Research; and, Thomas Wood.
Applied Spine Technologies, headquartered in New Haven, Conn., is developing the M-Brace(TM), a posterior dynamic stabilization device designed to support the spine while preserving motion and flexibility. M-Brace(TM) is expected to offer numerous advantages over current spinal fixation products and even new artificial disc products—including a less invasive and less traumatic procedure, maintenance of normal spine motion and disc function, and the potential to prevent or slow adjacent segment disease.