Bay Area startup Minerva Surgical has just raised $25 million for its device that treats menorrhagia, or abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding in women, according to a regulatory filing.
Minerva is developing a device, called the Aurora Endometrial Ablation System, that treats women with exceptionally heavy periods. The ray gun, that is, ablation device, seals the cervical canal with a balloon and zaps the endometrial lining with an electrode array – ending a woman’s menstrual woes within four minutes, the company asserts. A demo is available on the site.
The Redwood City-based company is in the midst of a 153-patient clinical trial that began in 2012 and is projected to be complete in 2016. It has a primary completion date in November this year, however, so stay tuned. The trial – and ultimately the procedure – is meant for women who do not want to have any more children.
Minerva has steadily raised a significant amount of capital since its 2008 launch – including this latest round, it’s received about $80 million in equity funding, according to a slew of regulatory filings. Calls to the company to detail what the latest funding round’s for have yet to be returned, however.
Minerva CEO David Clapper has led a number of surgical device companies, including SurgRx – a startup that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery in late 2008. Before that, Clapper worked in management at J&J for 16 years.
