Amphora Medical said today it closed a $35.5 million Series B financing round, led by major medtech player Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), with funds slated to support a US pivotal trial of its Selective Bladder Denervation System for treating women with overactive bladder.
Amphora’s Selective Bladder Denervation System is a minimally-invasive, cystopic device which uses targeted ablation to reduce nerve signals responsible for OAB symptoms at their source without harming nerves responsible for normal bladder function, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company said.
“The closing of this round is an important milestone for Amphora as we work to advance our minimally-invasive Selective Bladder Denervation System as a treatment for OAB. Upon the completion of two ongoing feasibility studies, we expect to initiate the pivotal, randomized, sham-controlled, selective bladder denervation clinical trial in women who are refractory to medical therapy in 2018,” Amphora CEO Tom Ressemann said in a press release.
The round was also led by Longitude Capital, and joined by HBM Healthcare Investments and existing venture investors F-Prime Capital Partners and Baird Capital, Amphora Medical said.
“As an initial investor in Amphora Medical, we are pleased to welcome Longitude Capital, Boston Scientific Corporation, and HBM Healthcare Investments,” F-Prime Capital Partners’ Ketan Patel said in a prepared release.
As part of the funding round, Longitude Capital’s Marc Galletti and HBM Healthcare Investments Thomas Thaler will join the company’s board of directors. The company said it also tapped Gynesonics CEO Chris Owens as an independent director.
“Today, many OAB patients have few options for managing their symptoms, which can be debilitating. Amphora’s Selective Bladder Denervation system has demonstrated the potential to restore normal bladder function and provide lasting symptom improvement in ongoing feasibility studies, and we believe this proprietary technology has the potential to be a fundamental advancement in the treatment of OAB,” Longitude Capital managing director Galletti said in a prepared statement.
