Simplify Medical said today it closed $23.3 million as part of the second tranche of its oversubscribed Series B financing, which brought in a total of $44.3 million for the company and its namesake cervical disc replacement.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company’s Simplify disc is designed to be magnetic resonance imaging safe and to eliminate imaging artifacts created by metals through the use of a PEEK-on-ceramic construction. The Simplify disc won CE Mark approval in the European Union in February 2015.
“Having an oversubscribed Series B is a testament to the large opportunity presented by the Simplify Disc. The Simplify Disc is designed to eliminate the need for CT scans post-surgery, reducing patient risk from associated radiation and solving a significant clinical problem in spine arthroplasty today,” CEO David Hovda said in a press release.
The second tranche was led by LSP Health Economics Fund 2 and joined by existing investors LSP Fund V, MH Carnegie & Co. and Sectoral Assett Management.
“We have great confidence in the Simplify Disc and the clinical outcomes achieved to date, and expect the U.S. clinical trials to demonstrate the same. Risk mitigation is top of mind for hospitals, and products like the Simplify Disc that maximize patient safety are well aligned with their concerns. In addition, the Simplify Disc offers the lowest-profile device, opening up a broader patient population for the technology,” LSP’s Fouad Azzam said in prepared remarks.
Funds from the Series B round will help support two ongoing pivotal clinical trials of the Simplify disc, exploring the use of the device in one level of the spine and in two adjacent levels of the spine as a treatment for cervical degenerative disc disease. Funds will also be used for continued commercialization outside the US, Simplify Medical said.
Last July, the company revealed plans to use its $21 million Series B round to complete a pair of pivotal studies for its namesake cervical disc replacement.