Arboretum Ventures and Solas BioVentures co-led the Series C round. New investors Orlando Health Ventures and two additional strategic partners also joined in the round. Existing investors Coloplast A/S and Tonkawa participated, too.
Minneapolis-based Francis Medical develops proprietary water vapor ablation therapy for treating prostate, kidney and bladder cancer. It plans to use proceeds to fund its VAPOR 2 pivotal clinical study for the management of prostate cancer. The company also earmarked funds for the development and U.S. commercialization of its Vanquish proprietary prostate cancer treatment. It expects to commercialize by the end of 2025.
Vanquish uses phase shift energy stored in sterile water vapor to convectively transfer thermal energy to cancerous tissue. This therapy causes cell death while minimizing or eliminating damage to surrounding structures.
Francis Medical’s VAPOR 2 study will support FDA 510(k) clearance for the company. It expects to file with the FDA in 2025.
“This milestone is an important step forward in the fight to vanquish prostate cancer,” said Michael Kujak, president and CEO of Francis Medical. “We are excited to be bringing this therapy to the U.S. market in late 2025 and are incredibly grateful to our investor partners for their dedication to making a meaningful difference in the lives of prostate cancer patients and are more confident than ever that this groundbreaking technology will ultimately become the first-line treatment of choice for men and their doctors.”
