Moximed, an innovative medical device company on a mission to improve the standard of care for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), today announced the closing on $61 million of Series D preferred stock financing with an option to close on up to an additional $30 million. The round was led by Elevage Medical Technologies, a Patient Square Capital platform, with participation from new investors Cormorant Asset Management and Warren Point Capital and existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Future Fund, Advent Life Sciences, Gilde Healthcare, Vertex Ventures HC, GBS Venture Partners, and Morgenthaler Ventures.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate U.S. commercialization of Moximed’s MISHA® Knee System, the world’s first implantable shock absorber (ISA) for knee osteoarthritis. OA is a common, debilitating condition, affecting the lives of over 32 million adults in the U.S, and projected to impact 70 million Americans by 2040.
Moximed utilized the clinically established benefits of weight load reduction on diseased joints to design and develop the MISHA Knee System, which is dedicated to helping people with mild-to-moderate OA preserve their knee joints while enjoying active lives. Implanted during an outpatient procedure, the MISHA Knee System has been shown to alleviate pain, improve function, and delay the need for total knee replacement in some patients.
“This financing is validation of the significant market opportunity for the MISHA Knee System,” said Chris Gleason, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moximed. “We are seeing tremendous interest from surgeons and patients, and we are excited to rapidly expand our commercial infrastructure to address evolving patient needs in this growing market.”
As part of the financing, Michael Wasserman, Ph.D., of Elevage Medical will join Moximed’s Board of Directors. Prior to Elevage, Dr. Wasserman served as Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity and spent 17 years at H.I.G. Capital. Dr. Wasserman has served on the boards of numerous growth-stage businesses including HyperBranch Medical Technologies (Stryker), NeuWave Medical (Johnson & Johnson), and VertiFlex (Boston Scientific). “Elevage is thrilled to partner with Moximed as it continues to generate commercial momentum,” stated Wasserman. “The size of Moximed’s market opportunity, the product differentiation, and its clinical value proposition are highly compelling attributes. We are pleased that our investment will help fuel significant expansion of the Moximed business and positively impact the lives of countless patients.”
“A medical device financing of this magnitude is a strong vote of confidence in this competitive funding environment,” said James Leech, Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Moximed. “Our unique market opportunity, technology, and high caliber team enabled us to attract blue-chip investors in this important financing. We look forward to using these proceeds to expand patient and surgeon access to our breakthrough technology.”
“I am extremely proud of the Moximed team for taking the next steps in delivering a highly impactful product that addresses a significant clinical need for a large number of people,” noted Josh Makower, M.D., Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moximed. “The MISHA Knee System has the potential to help millions of patients suffering from medial knee OA who are not ready for joint replacement.”
About Moximed
Moximed’s technology, the MISHA Knee System, is the result of over a decade of clinical research and development and is the first implantable shock absorber for the treatment of medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA). With experienced med-tech leadership and strong investor support, Moximed is poised to elevate the standard of care and quality of life for millions of pre-arthroplasty knee OA sufferers hindered by arthritic knee pain and function loss. Moximed is based in Fremont, California.
To learn more, visit www.moximed.com.
About The MISHA® Knee System
Moximed’s MISHA Knee System is for people with medial knee OA who failed to find relief from previous treatments. These patients continue to experience pain that interferes with daily activities, and are ineligible for, or unwilling to undergo, joint replacement due to age or absence of advanced OA.
Knee OA develops when the joint’s natural shock absorbers, cartilage and meniscus, no longer cushion the joint from daily activities, leading to chronic pain and activity limitation. Many people with mild to moderate OA are otherwise healthy, in their prime working years, and have busy lives. For these patients, total knee replacement is a reluctant option, as it is an end-stage treatment for end-stage disease. OA patients without end-stage disease seek options that preserve their knee, activity level, and quality of life.
Reducing weight on painful osteoarthritic joints is known to reduce pain and improve function. The MISHA Knee System is the first implantable shock absorber that reduces weight on the knee joint with every walking step, easing pain, preserving function, and possibly delaying joint replacement surgery. The implant is placed on the medial knee and moves with the natural joint, reducing about 30% of the peak force on the knee with every walking step.
The MISHA Knee System is FDA cleared.
About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing €2.6 billion across two fund strategies: Venture&Growth and Private Equity. The Venture&Growth fund of Gilde Healthcare invests in fast growing companies active in therapeutics, medtech and digital health, based in Europe and North America. The Private Equity fund of Gilde Healthcare participates in profitable lower mid-market healthcare companies based in North-Western Europe.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com.
