Massachusetts-based Mevion Medical secured $55 million in funding in support of accelerated deployment of the company’s single-room-proton therapy systems, a smaller, cheaper radiation therapy system for targeting cancerous tumors.
Mevion reported that it raised the funds from existing equity investors Caxton Heath Life Sciences, ProQuest Investments, Venrock, and CHL Medical Partners, as well as through debt financing provided by Life Sciences Alternative Funding.
"Mevion was founded to provide cancer centers and patients around the world with cutting-edge proton therapy technology on a scale, size and cost that is accessible and practical for today’s healthcare landscape," Mevion CEO Joseph Jachinowski said in prepared remarks. "These additional funds will support the growth of our business operations in the U.S. and internationally."
Mevion hopes its S250 system will disrupt the current proton therapy paradigm by representing a cheaper, smaller, and more reliable and efficient alternative to current therapy systems. The S250 is the only single-room proton therapy system with FDA clearance for the U.S. market, having won the green light in June 2012.
The 1st U.S. installation of the S250 system, undergoing preparations to begin treatment later this year, will debut at the S. Lee Kling Center for Proton Therapy at Barnes Jewish Hospital at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri, according to a company statement.
