The spine gurus at Benvenue Medical, Inc. just might have a few ideas on how to use its recent infusion of $64 million in financing. According to the company, they intend to use the proceeds to build its U.S. commercial presence, scale up manufacturing, increase administrative functions to support overall corporate growth and provide working capital to fund growth in operating activities.
$64 Million for Benvenue…and Gil Kliman, M.D. Welcomed to Board of Directors
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The financing is a combination of $40 million in Series E equity supplemented with $24 million in debt. The Series E equity financing was led by new investor InterWest Partners with all existing major investors participating and Silicon Valley Bank was the sole debt provider.
“We welcome new investor InterWest Partners, and we’re gratified by the continued support from our existing investors and Silicon Valley Bank, who has been our long-standing banking partner. We believe the large investment in our company is due to Kiva’s successful U.S. launch, the Luna device bearing a CE mark and its upcoming FDA submission. We’re all very excited about the enthusiastic response we’ve received from the spine community, ” commented Robert Weigle, CEO of Benvenue Medical in the June 16, 2014 news release.
In other news, the company is welcoming Gil Kliman, M.D. from InterWest Partners to its board of directors. “Benvenue Medical is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting companies in the spine category. We’re happy to be a part of the significant positive momentum that clearly shows how well- positioned the company is for considerable commercial success in the global spine market, ” said Dr. Kliman.
Asked about the buildup of the U.S. commercial presence, Weigle told OTW, “Benvenue Medical continues to augment our existing direct sales force, as well as expand sales support infrastructure in marketing and professional education. As product demand continues to grow, we will provide ample product for our customers by ensuring manufacturing scale-up and our high quality standards.”
Weigle also commented, “Dr. Kliman joins the rest of our board members in supporting our company and our people as we maximize our potential to improve long-term patient outcomes as demonstrated by our strong clinical data. That’s what will ensure that we continue to meet our milestones and fulfill our growth potential.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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