California orthopedic device developer Moximed said today it raised $50 million in a Series C round of financing.

The round was joined by newly invested Advent Life Sciences and Future fund and existing investors NEA, Morgenthaler Ventures, Gilde Healthcare, GBS Venture Partners and Vertex Healthcare.

“This financing round is timely, as we are completing the primary endpoint follow-up for our FDA pivotal study this month. We expect this investment to fully fund the company through FDA approval and early US commercialization of our products. There is a massive demand for new treatment options by patients who want to maintain an active lifestyle until they are ready for a knee replacement. The tremendous patient interest and surgeon enthusiasm we are witnessing in our current Atlas IDE study is validating our effort to address this clinical need,” CEO Kevin Sidow said in a prepared statement.

As part of the funding round, Advent Life Sciences general partner Dr. Shahzad Malik and GBS Venture Partners managing director Brigitte Smith will join the company’s board of directors.

“Patients between the ages of 35 and 65 years old represent the fastest growing segment of the knee OA population. These patients are often considered too young for traditional joint replacement and are desperate for a treatment alternative. We are excited to support Moximed’s effort to address this opportunity,” Malik said in a press release.

Last November, Moximed said it enrolled the 1st patient in an FDA approved investigational device exemption trial of its next-gen Atlas unicompartmental unloading knee implant.

The Atlas is designed to treat osteoarthritis knee joint pain in patients ages 35 to 65 whose condition has not degenerated enough to require arthroplasty. The device is a joint unloader placed along the knee to absorb excess load and buy time.

The cylindrical shock absorber component is about as long as a standard house key and has the diameter of a pencil, and the bases that attach to the bone have a footprint a bit larger than a quarter. Once the osteoarthritis becomes too severe, Atlas can be taken out to make room for a full knee replacement as needed.