Medtech companies raised more than $839 million in Q1

Venture capital firms invested more than $839 million in medical devices and equipment companies during the first quarter of 2018, an increase of more than $338 million from the last quarter of 2017, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and CB Insights.

There was a total of 48 deals during Q1 this year, a slight drop from the 52 deals during Q4 last year. However, medical device and equipment companies raised a total of $839,670,000 during the first quarter whereas they only raised $501,990,000 during quarter four of last year.

Compared to the first quarter of 2017, investments have risen about $13 million, but there were 19 fewer deals this year than in the first quarter last year.

The top 10 companies that raised the most VC in the first quarter were:

• Centinel Spine (New York) specializes in spinal devices and is currently developing stand-alone, no-profile, integrated interbody fusion technology. It raised $132,250,000 in the first quarter.
• Procept BioRobotics (Redwood City, Calif.) has developed a surgical product called the AquaBeam for transurethral resection of prostate tissue, as well as other treatment and diagnostic applications. The company’s AquaBeam is an image-guided tissue removal system that uses heat-free, high-velocity water jet technology to resect and remove a volume of tissue. Procept BioRobotics raised $118 million during the first quarter of 2018.
• Gossamer Bio (San Diego) is developing therapeutic products, specializing in oncology, inflammation, immunology and fibrosis. The company raised $100 million during the first quarter.
• Millipede (Santa Rosa, Calif.) is currently developing a percutaneous solution for mitral valve repair. They raised $90 million during the first quarter, with Boston Scientific one of the investors.
• Aegea Medical (Redwood City, Calif.) is developing technology that uses convective water vapor to treat menorrhagia. Its technology delivers controlled, low-pressure natural water vapor to the uterine cavity to efficiently ablate the inner lining of the uterus. The company raised $40 million in the first quarter and Medtronic was one of its investors.
• Intuity Medical (Fremont, Calif.) is developing a blood glucose monitoring system that is designed to make testing easier, convenient and discreet. The company raised $40 million.
• SomaLogic (Boulder, Colo.) is working on developing clinical diagnostic products while driving the development of new therapeutics that use protein biomarker discovery and validation. It raised $39 million during the first quarter.
• Inari Medical (Irvine, Calif.) developed a system for the interventional treatment of vascular thrombus and emboli. The company raised $27 million during the first quarter.
• Neuspera Medical (San Jose, Calif.) is a startup company that develops miniaturized injectable neuromodulation technologies that are implantable and more than 100 times smaller than other neuromodulation devices. The devices are designed to reduce implant procedure complexity, time, patient complication and post-surgical pain. Neuspera Medical raised $26 million during the first quarter.
• Simplify Medical (Sunnyvale, Calif.) manufactures an MRI compatible device as well as a cervical artificial disc that can be used in the spine. The company raised $23,250,000 million.