Nico Corp. said it raised $15 million of a hoped-for $18 million funding round, led by prior backers River Cities Capital Funds and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, for its BrainPath neurosurgery device.
Indianapolis-based Nico said in a regulatory filing that 41 investors participated in the round, which nearly doubled its previous fundraising efforts.
The BrainPath system uses a shunt and specially designed instrumentation to give surgeons access to the subcortical section of the brain. The device won 510(k) clearance from the FDA last June for treating primary and secondary brain tumors, vascular abnormalities, intraventricular tumors or cysts.
Nico said it plans to use the proceeds to grow its commercial footprint and conduct a study on using BrainPath for early surgical intervention in spontaneous intra-cerebral hemorrhages, compared with a “watch and wait” approach.
“We have a solid foundation of clinical and economic evidence, and that evidence continues to grow, giving us added momentum for controlled market expansion and deliberate steps toward setting a new standard of care in neurosurgery,” president & CEO Jim Pearson said in prepared remarks.
“Nico represents one of those rare opportunities that a company can both create and define a standard of care in a space where none currently exists and establish a medical device franchise in one of the last untapped frontiers of the human body, the brain,” added River Cities Capital Funds managing director Carter McNabb. “There is growing clinical consensus that using the BrainPath approach for subcortical access, resection and tissue preservation will be the foundation of a new standard of care. That reality, combined with the exceptional team at Nico, makes this one of our most exciting device investments.”
