A Medical Device Daily

Pioneer Surgical Technology (Marquette, Michigan), a developer of spinal and orthopedic implants and instruments, said it has raised $15 million in a Series B financing round. New investor InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund (IMGCF) participated in the round. Previous investors Pharos Capital Group, Highlander Partners, Hopewell Ventures, and River Cities Capital Funds also participated in the round.

"This capital will fund our FDA pivotal study for the NuBac nucleus replacement device, enabling us to bring this innovative P3 technology to the U.S. market," said Matthew Songer, MD, president/CEO and chairman of Pioneer.

Pioneer says it is the first company to receive FDA approval to start the IDE pivotal study for lumbar nucleus replacement. The NuBac is a minimally-invasive device and is the first in a family of PEEK-on-PEEK articulating discs and implants developed by Pioneer.

"With its focus on one of the largest, fastest-growing and most profitable segments in the medical device industry, we feel confident Pioneer Surgical will be a valuable addition to the IMGCF portfolio," said IMGCF co-manager Charles Rothstein, of Beringea.

According to Pioneer, the NuBac implant system is the only nucleus replacement device that uses an articulating inner ball and socket design that seeks to achieve load sharing and uniform stress distribution under various physiological loading conditions while minimizing extrusion risk. The NuBac implant is made of PEEK-OPTIMA material which offers well-established biocompatibility, biodurability, excellent wear resistance, and radiolucency, according to the company.

Thomas Weisel Partners served as financial advisor to Pioneer in connection with the Series B financing.

In other financing activity, Endoscopic Technologies (Estech; San Ramon, California) reported that in September it closed on an $11.2 million first tranche of a planned $20 million in equity financing. Saints Capital Everest, a preeminent secondary direct investment firm, led the financing. Also participating in the first tranche were existing investors Telegraph Hill Partners and Waveland Venture Partners.

The company also reported that it has appointed John Pavlidis as president/CEO and Terry Kinninger as CFO/COO. Pavlidis was previously president/CEO of R2 Technology, a developer in computer-aided detection technology for mammography and lung CT scanning. Kinninger has more than 25 years of executive experience managing emerging venture capital-backed medical device and technology companies. He was more recently CFO and executive VP of business development for R2 Technology and COO/CFO of Bridge Medical.

Estech says it is a pioneer in the field of minimally invasive cardiac surgery and RF surgical ablation, and also is a supplier of Least Invasive Valve surgery and CABG products.