Strata Skin Sciences (NSDQ:SSKN) said today it raised $17 million in a new round of financing and announced a number of changes to its executive roster, including an incoming CEO, new board chair and new chief financial officer.
The Horsham, Penn.-based company said that the $17 million round of financing was led by Accelmed Growth Partners and was joined by existing investors Broadfin Capital and Sabby Management and its incoming CEO Dr. Dolev Rafaeli. The company specified that of the $17 million, $3 million will be used to pay down a portion of its current loan with MidCap financial.
The remaining proceeds from the financing will be used to support the company’s core recurring revenue business and to search for and develop new technologies, Strata Skin Sciences said.
Following the closing of the financing round, the company said that Dr. Dolev Rafaeli has assumed the position of CEO, and that Accelmed managing partner Dr. Uri Geiger has assumed the position of board chair. The company also announced the appointment of Matthew Hill as its chief financial officer.
“I am thrilled to lead Strata at this extraordinary time. The Xtrac device is a best-in-class UV technology for the treatment of psoriasis, vitiligo and other skin conditions. Our business model is differentiated by a combination of clinical superiority, unique value-added services – including a direct-to-patient engine that accelerates awareness and drives consigned Xtrac device utilization – and a reimbursement support team that confirms insurance benefits, thereby expediting the patient experience. Our immediate priority is to execute a comprehensive turnaround strategy to restore the growth potential of the business. The initial steps will include: 1) rebuilding the Xtrac business’ value creation proposition for our physician partner accounts, 2) improving patient retention through improved clinical outcomes and protocol compliance, and 3) re-engaging our proven direct-to-consumer, end-to-end patient acquisition strategy to drive more patients into the dermatology practices. We believe that stricter adherence to protocol compliance will lead to better clinical outcomes for patients, resulting in a higher patient retention rate for physicians. We also believe that our Optimal Therapeutic Dose technology for Xtrac, currently in development, will jump start adherence to the preferred protocol, once deployed. Our nationwide network of Xtrac partner clinics offers a significant opportunity to increase market penetration in psoriasis and to broaden our market penetration with other approved indications, including vitiligo and atopic dermatitis. Lastly, we are formulating a strategy that is expected to drive revenue growth outside the U.S., where we currently enjoy significant market penetration in such markets as China, South Korea and the Middle East, to name a few,” board chair Dr. Rafaeli said in a prepared release.
“We are excited to become the majority shareholder of Strata and confident that the combination of Dr. Rafaeli’s leadership and Accelmed’s proven track record of creating successful medtech platform companies will provide tremendous value to patients, physicians and shareholders,” CEO Dr. Geiger said in a prepared statement.
“I am thrilled to join Strata at this exciting time and believe that the company’s portfolio of skin science technologies has enormous potential. I look forward to growing with the company and working with the management team to help Strata become one of the leaders in the dermatology space,” CFO Hill said in a press release.
Last month, Strata announced that it raised $17 million in a round of financing alongside plans to make Dr. Rafaeli its future CEO.
