Spirox lands $19m Series B round

Spirox said this week that it nailed down an $18.5 million Series B round to back development and commercialization of its device to treat patients with nasal obstructions.

Venrock and Aisling Capital led the round for Menlo Park, Calif.-based Spirox, with existing investors Aperture Venture Partners, Correlation Ventures and Western Technology Investment also participating.

As part of financing, Venrock partner Camille Samuels and Aisling partner Aftab Kherani will join Spirox’s board of directors, along with Stacy Enxing Seng, former president of vascular therapies at Covidien.

Spirox said it is developing a new kind of minimally invasive device to treat patients with nasal obstructions for the ear, nose and throat market. The proceeds are slated for winding up development work and pursuing U.S. marketing authorization and commercial launch, the company said.

Spirox hopes to compete with existing invasive surgical procedures, which carry higher levels of risk. More than 1 million surgeries are performed each year to alleviate nasal obstructions, according to the company.

“We are thrilled to receive support from such a strong syndicate of investors to help us accelerate Spirox towards commercialization,” CEO Duke Rohlen said in prepared remarks. “This funding is further validation of our technology, which has the potential to provide relief for millions of patients suffering from nasal obstruction.”