Neurostimulation devices that send mild electrical pulses to target nerves are arguably the fastest-growing segment of the medical devices sector. They’re primarily being commercialized in neurology and urology but are apparently showing promise in cardiology too.
A startup called NeuroTronik spun out of medical device incubator Synecor last year says it’s raised a $13.1 million series A led by Hatteras Venture Partners. NeuroTronik CEO Fred McCoy told VentureWire that Lord Baltimore Capital, Mountain Group Capital and Synergy Life Science Partners also participated in the round.
The funding will be used to develop a device to treat patients who go to the hospital for worsening symptoms of acute heart failure syndrome, which occurs when the heart’s ability to pump blood is hindered by coronary artery disease, high blood pressure or a variety of other conditions.
NeuroTronik is creating a device that cardiologists would use to stimulate a patient’s heart so that it could pump blood more effectively. This kind of treatment has the potential to shorten hospital stays and reduce the need for patients to return to the hospital, McCoy told the News & Observer.
The Chapel Hill, North Carolina, company, which also has operations in Ireland, hopes to have its device approved outside of the U.S. within four years and in the U.S. in six years.
Minnesota firm BioControl Medical is already testing a nerve stimulation system for heart failure, but its intended use appears to be in chronic heart failure patients.
NeuroTronik’s McCoy spent the first part of his career working his way up the ladder at Eli Lilly and Company and its subsidiaries. He was president of Guidant’s cardiac rhythm management division when the Lilly spinoff was sold to Boston Scientific in 2006. He’s also currently vice chairman of Synecor.
