Israeli bio-absorbable polymer spacer balloons developer BioProtect has announced the initial closing of $13 million in a Series D equity financing round led by the family office of Vincent Tchenguiz, chairman of Consensus Business Group, which is investing $7 million and with the participation of Accelmed Ventures and Korea's KB Investments with an additional $6 million.
BioProtect's pipeline of spacing products improves outcomes in radiotherapy and interventional oncology procedures as well as in aesthetics and general surgery. The new funds will finance the ongoing multicenter FDA clinical trial of BioProtect's lead product, the ProSpace balloon spacer, which protects prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, as well as the expansion of the technology platform.
The ProSpace balloon spacer helps reduction of radiation therapy risks by pushing the prostate away from adjacent organ at risk, the rectum. Once injected with saline the spacer offers physicians a consistent gap of over 1.5cm, is visible under CT. The spacer remains stable during radiation therapy and is gradually absorbed after radition therapy is completed.
The versatility and physician appeal and adoption of a bioabsorbable polymer balloon spacer was further validated last year when a BioProtect spinout for musculoskeletal applications, Orthospace, was acquired by Stryker for a reported $220 million.
Tchenguiz said, "We have been supporting BioProtect for a long time, watching it succeed. We believe its technology offers strong value that would help the market's growth. We also recognize the strength of the platform and are keen to work with the company to continue and grow it "
BioProtect CEO Gil Rosen said, "We appreciate the vote of confidence by these leading investors. The capital will allow us to focus on our most important mission, obtaining FDA approval. As the radiotherapy market continues to offer shorter, more accurate radiotherapies, BioProtect is on a mission to offer as many cancer patients as possible safer radiation treatment."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 14, 2020
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