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Mainstay moves to Dublin after funding

Wednesday, September 26 12:24:14

Medical devices company Mainstay Medical Ltd is moving its headquarters from the US to Dublin after it raised USD20m (E15.3m) in venture capital funding.

It said that is has successfully completed an oversubscribed Series B financing round led by Fountain Healthcare Partners (Ireland).

Other new investors in the Series B round include US group, Medtronic, Capricorn Venture Partners in Belgium and French investors, Seventure Partners.

Existing Series A investors Sofinnova Partners (Sofinnova - France), and Twin City Angels (TCA - Minneapolis, USA) also participated.

Mainstay said that the new funding will advance the on-going development of Mainstay Medical's disruptive new medical device for the treatment of patients with chronic non-specific low back pain.

As part of the financing, Mainstay Medical relocated its head office and executive leadership to Dublin from Minneapolis, Minnesota US.

The World Health Organization reports that low back pain is the most prevalent of musculoskeletal conditions, and affects nearly everyone at some point in time. Low back pain is the number one cause of lost working days in the developed world, with a staggering 7.5 Million people in the US with chronic back pain at any time, and similar numbers for Europe. The cost to society of lost working days and health care treatment is enormous. For many of these people, low back pain results from malfunction of muscles responsible for spine stability. Mainstay Medical has developed a novel approach using an implantable device like a "pacemaker for the back" to restore spine stability to ameliorate pain and allow return to work.

Mainstay was founded in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Dr. Danny Sachs, and then under the leadership of CEO Peter Crosby, Mainstay conducted a European Feasibility Study across four leading clinics in Europe.

The promise of the new therapy was clearly demonstrated in that Feasibility Study and in parallel the Company also advanced the development of its own proprietary products, and added to its intellectual property portfolio. Mainstay will use the proceeds of the Series B financing to expand the team for product development, quality, clinical, regulatory and administration, as it moves towards its goals of achieving regulatory approval in Europe and running a global clinical trial leading to a PMA submission to the FDA in the US.

Dr. Manus Rogan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fountain Healthcare Partners said, "We are excited about Mainstay, and the potential to relieve the back pain suffered by millions of people worldwide. We are particularly pleased that Mainstay and the syndicate of international investors has recognised the economic value and attractiveness of Ireland as a location to build an innovative medical device company."