GERD treatment firm Mederi Therapeutics Raises $18.5M in Series B Financing

Mederi Therapeutics, a Greenwich, Connecticut company that markets medical devices to treat gastrointestinal reflux disease and fecal incontinence, has raised $18.5 billion in a Series B financing round.

The money - a mixture of equity and venture debt - will be used to accelerate the adoption of the Stretta and Secca therapies that use radiofrequency to treat GERD and fecal incontinence respectively. A company spokeswoman said the money will help to expand sales and marketing activities. 

Investors in this round of financing were Acadia Woods Partners, Respiratory Diagnostics Inc., a subsidiary of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., as well as a group of angel investors. Horizon Technology Finance provided the venture debt. 

“Many device start-up companies launch with large sales forces and deep marketing budgets before gaining traction with clinical data and reimbursement. Mederi has strategically built sales and marketing as we gained such traction," declared Will Rutan, CEO of Mederi, in a news release. "This conservative approach has paid off, resulting in expanding insurance coverage domestically and abroad, significant growth in 2013, and product availability in almost 40 countries on a relatively small amount of investor capital."

Both the Stretta and Secca therapies are delivered on an outpatient basis and are aimed at patients who do not respond to medication and want an alternative to invasive surgical procedures.  

[Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com user stevanovicigor]
 

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI
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