Devices & Diagnostics

Israeli medical device firm IceCure picks Cleveland for U.S. headquarters

Israeli device company IceCure Medical has chosen Cleveland to be its U.S. headquarters, a move […]

Israeli device company IceCure Medical has chosen Cleveland to be its U.S. headquarters, a move the company’s CEO hinted at in February.

The company plans to open its U.S. headquarters at the Cleveland Clinic-led Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center campus on June 1, according to a statement from IceCure.

The Israeli company has been connected to Northeast Ohio for a few years as a result of its business relationship with the Bridge Investment Fund, which has invested more than $1 million in IceCure since 2008.

“The unique infrastructure for growing biomedical companies, the support we received from many organizations, and the progressive healthcare environment that includes world-class institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, led us to choose Cleveland for our U.S. operations,” said IceCure CEO Hezi Himelfarb, in the statement.

IceCure will likely start out with just a few employees in Cleveland, but local officials anticipate the company will  bring about 15 jobs to Northeast Ohio.

IceCure’s lead product, IceSense3, is used to freeze and destroy benign breast tumors in women via a process called cryoablation. It received 510(k) marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last year.

The company raised $10 million through an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in February, though its shares are trading down 15 percent since the IPO. The TA-100, a leading index, has dropped about 5 percent over that time frame.

IceCure becomes the latest in a long line of Israeli biomedical firms that have based their U.S. operations in Northeast Ohio, including Simbionix, MDG Medical and NI Medical. Local officials no doubt hope others will follow, and with the strong ties between Israel and Northeast Ohio, it’s likely they won’t be disappointed.

IceCure says its method of treating fibroadenomas, noncancerous breast tumors, offers a number of advantages over the conventional way of treating them, typically a lumpectomy. Because cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure, the IceSense creates less scarring and can be done quickly at a doctor’s office with only a local anesthetic, according to the company.

The company plans to conduct clinical trials to study using the IceSense3 to treat breast cancer, Himelfarb said earlier this year.

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