Medical Device Daily

Relievant Medsystems (Redwood City, California) developer of a, minimally invasive treatment for chronic low back pain, reported that it has completed a $20 million private equity financing. The financing was led by Morgenthaler Ventures (Boston) with existing investors Canaan Partnersand ONSET Ventures (both Menlo Park, California) and new investor Emergent Medical Partners (Portola Valley, California) participating. The company also said that Morgenthaler partner Hank Plain has joined its board of directors.

"Capital raised will fund clinical research and the launch of our Intracept System to treat low back pain," commented Paul Goeld, president/CEO of Relievant. "The results from our small pilot study are very encouraging and we plan to initiate a larger study later this year. The multicenter trial is intended to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our technology."

Based on the research of Michael Heggeness, MD, PhD, of the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston), Relievant's Intracept System treats chronic low back pain with a simple, minimally invasive procedure. In a small pilot study, treated patients reported immediate pain relief and returned to normal activities the next day.

Qliance Medical Management (Seattle) reported it has closed a $4 million funding round from three institutional venture capital firms, led by Second Avenue Partners with participation by New Atlantic Ventures (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Clear Fir Partners (Seattle), bringing its total capital raised to nearly $7.5 million. The company plans to use the proceeds to add new clinics for its medical practice partner, Qliance Medical Group (Washington) operating under the Qliance brand.

"We were very presently surprised – that the round was over subscribed," Norm Wu President/CEO of Qliance Medical Management told Medical Device Daily. "We have been very fortunate that both of our rounds have been funded so quickly."

In lieu of insurance and co-pays, Qliance patients pay monthly membership fees covering all direct care, ranging between $39 and $79, depending on their age. In exchange, Qliance patients get unrestricted primary and preventive care for everyday things like vaccinations, checkups, pneumonia, minor fractures, routine women's health exams, and ongoing care for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension or obesity. Hospital in-patient rounds can also be included for a slightly higher monthly membership fee.

Qliance currently has one clinic in downtown Seattle and will be opening its second in Kent, Washington in August. A third is planned around the end of this year. The company is currently in discussions with several large groups to extend its model to other parts of the country.

In other financing news:

• American Bio Medica (Kinderhook, New York) reported the successful execution of a new senior secured line of credit with Rosenthal & Rosenthal a privately held financial services firm. The new credit facility expires in 2012, is collateralized by the company's receivables, inventory and intellectual property, and provides for up to $1.5 million in a revolving line of credit; it replaces one of the company's previous credit facilities with First Niagara Bank, which only provided for up to $650,000 in a revolving line of credit. A portion of the proceeds, nearly $650,000, from the new line of credit have been used to repay the First Niagara line of credit, with the remaining proceeds to be used to provide the company with increased liquidity for general corporate purposes, including working capital.

• Cord Blood America (Santa Monica, California), one of the largest umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation companies focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, said that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a healthcare fund under which Cord Blood America has secured a $7.5 million investment capital commitment, which may be drawn down through the sale of Series A Preferred Stock once a registration statement is filed and declared effective under the Securities Act of 1933.

Proceeds of the investment are anticipated to be used to fund new stem cell initiatives, potential acquisitions, and working capital needs. Matthew Schissler, founder and CEO, said the proceeds, once available and when coupled with internally generated revenues, should be sufficient to fund operations in the foreseeable future.

• eCardio Diagnostics (The Woodlands, Texas) one of the nation's leading providers of arrhythmia monitoring services, reported that it has received a significant minority investment from Sequoia Capital. This is eCardio's first round of institutional funding since the company was founded in 2004. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The investment from Sequoia Capital comes after several years of profitable growth and industry recognition for eCardio.

• As required under the indenture covering Apogent Technologies (Waltham, Massachusetts) Floating Rate Convertible Senior Debentures due 2033 (CUSIP No. 03760AAK7), Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts) is providing public notice to the holders of these bonds that they have the right to convert the debentures.