Sunshine Heart Inc. (ASX:SHC) raised $9.4 million, including $3.5 million from the sale of equity and options in the U.S., according to documents filed with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission.
The company, based in Australia and Eden Prairie, Minn., says it will use the money to fund a 20-patient feasibility study and eventually a large pivotal clinical trial in America of its C-Pulse technology. The implantable “counterpulsation” device, designed for patients with Class III moderate heart failure, helps the body pump additional blood and oxygen to the heart when the heart is resting, thereby relieving stress on the organ.
Sunshine’s roots lie in Australia, where the company trades on the ASX stock market under the ticker symbol SHC. Dr. William Peters, an Australian cardiologist who also trained at Stanford University, invented the C-Pulse technology.
The company also is headquartered in Eden Prairie under the leadership of CEO David Rosa, a former vice president of worldwide marketing for cardiac surgery and cardiology at St. Jude Medical Inc.
Sunshine said it raised $6.5 million from Australian institutional investors GBS Venture Partners and CM Capital. The company originally wanted to raise up to $11 million in the U.S. but settled on $3.5 million, according to the SEC filing.
