TearScience Secures $15 Million In Venture Debt Financing From Oxford Finance, LLC And Silicon Valley Bank
MorrisvilLe, N.C.,—October 3, 2011—TearScience, Inc., a privately-held medical device company, today announced a $15M venture debt financing deal with Oxford Finance LLC and Silicon Valley Bank. The financing supports TearScience’s commercialization efforts of its new, innovative solution for evaluating the eye’s natural tear film and treating evaporative dry eye disease.
“We are pleased to engage Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank as our newest partners supporting our commercialization efforts,” said Nicole Wicker, vice president of finance for TearScience. “Having both a premier banking institution and a debt firm that focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry as our partners makes good business sense as we begin our next stage of growth.”
“Given TearScience’s recent FDA clearance for its LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System, we feel confident about the company’s future success,” said Christopher A. Herr, managing director for Oxford Finance. “TearScience’s advanced solutions have great potential to improve the well-being of dry eye sufferers.”
TearScience sells its LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System and LipiView® Ocular Surface Interferometer devices as a solution for eye care practices. LipiFlow® is designed to remove meibomian gland obstructions by applying directed energy to a patient’s eyelid during a 12-minute in-office treatment. LipiView® enables physicians to visualize the eye’s tear film.
About TearScience, Inc.
Headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina, TearScience has pioneered devices that provide significant clinical improvement in the treatment of evaporative dry eye. Of the more than 100 million dry eye sufferers worldwide, approximately 65 percent have evaporative dry eye, which is caused by meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and a lipid deficiency of the eye’s natural tear film. The Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) workshop, involving two years of work by 50 leading experts from around the world, concluded that MGD is an under-estimated condition and is very likely the most frequent cause of dry eye disease. TearScience’s integrated, in-office system enables eye care professionals to effectively address a root cause of evaporative dry eye, obstructed meibomian glands. For additional information, visit www.tearscience.com
About Oxford Finance LLC
Oxford Finance is a specialty finance firm providing senior secured loans to public and private life sciences and healthcare services companies worldwide. For over 20 years, Oxford has delivered flexible financing solutions to its clients, enabling these companies to maximize their equity by leveraging their assets. In recent years, Oxford has originated over $1.5 billion in loans, with lines of credit ranging from $500 thousand to $50 million. Oxford is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with additional offices in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and North Carolina. For more information, visit www.oxfordfinance.com.
About Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank is the premier bank for technology, life science, cleantech, venture capital, private equity and premium wine businesses. SVB provides industry knowledge and connections, financing, treasury management, corporate investment and international banking services to its clients worldwide through 26 U.S. offices and seven international operations. (Nasdaq:SIVB – News) www.svb.com.
Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary and the commercial banking operation of SVB Financial Group. Banking services are provided by Silicon Valley Bank, a member of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve System. SVB Private Bank is a division of Silicon Valley Bank. SVB Financial Group is also a member of the Federal Reserve System.
Media Contacts:
Mary Hecht-Kissell
TearScience, Inc.
mhkissell@tearscience.com
(919) 459-4803
Shelly Davis
Oxford Finance LLC
sdavis@oxfordfinance.com
(888) 471-0174
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