September 05, 2007 11:34 ET
Finland's Nexstim Completes EUR 8 Million Financing Round
HELSINKI, FINLAND--(Marketwire - September 5, 2007) - Nexstim Ltd., a medical device company
developing a revolutionary brain diagnostics and therapy technology, today
announced that it has successfully completed a EUR 8 million private
placement. New investor HealthCap led the round, which also included new
investors LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.
Sitra, an existing investor, also participated in the round.
The significant new equity investment will allow Nexstim to accelerate its
international sales and marketing activities, and expand its customer base
from mainly research institutions to the much larger market for clinical
applications. The financing will also enable the completion of a benchmark
clinical trial necessary to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
marketing clearance and allow Nexstim to begin commercial sales in the
strategically important U.S. market. Jukka-Pekka Särkkä, Managing Director
of Nexstim, commented, "It is gratifying to note that leading European life
science venture capital funds recognize the value of financing global sales
and marketing strategies which are so vital for realizing the true
potential of innovations in medical technology."
Nexstim is pioneering Navigated Brain Stimulation (NBS) for brain
diagnostics and therapy. NBS combines Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
(TMS) with stereotactic navigation and ECG/EMG measurement. In NBS, an
operator places a small, hand-held coil over the patient's head and
delivers a series of short magnetic pulses which briefly activate minute
areas of cortex, the upper layer of the brain. EEG signals generated in the
brain, or EMG signals from the patient's limbs, are detected by high
resolution amplifiers, and a powerful computer analyzes the data in
real-time. A standard MR image of the brain structure aligned to the
contours of the patient's head allows a technique called stereotactic
navigation. From the system monitor the operator sees the exact location of
the magnetic pulses relative to the cortex and can thus freely, and
precisely, guide the coil over the surface of the brain, much like a car
driver using a GPS navigation system. NBS is completely non-invasive,
painless and has been shown to be safe over decades of research.
NBS systems have extensive applications in functional brain imaging,
including accurate mapping of critical motor and sensory areas of the
cortex prior to neurosurgery, evaluating brain damage following stroke, and
testing spinal cord integrity. Nexstim believes that the ability of NBS to
precisely and reproducibly target TMS within the brain will, in the near
future, allow the development of effective therapies for a wide range of
brain injuries and diseases, including stroke rehabilitation, major
depression and tinnitus.
"Nexstim has developed a technology that has the potential to capture a
unique position within the central nervous system (CNS) field. We believe
that medical devices, such as Nexstim's NBS, will play an increasing role
in the treatment and management of CNS diseases," said Dr. Johan
Christenson, M.D., Ph.D, Partner at HealthCap.
Dr. René Kuijten, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, General Partner at LSP, commented, "We
are very excited to become a shareholder in this company. Nexstim's
technology is addressing a clear unmet medical need and I look forward to
playing a role in establishing this technology in clinical practice."
"Sitra is extremely pleased with Nexstim's successful closing of this round
of financing. This is the first time that leading European life sciences
venture capital funds, HealthCap and LSP, have invested together in a
Finnish company. Sitra has had a significant role as an initial investor in
the company's earlier financing rounds. The substantial size of this round
ensures that the company has an excellent chance of succeeding in becoming
a leading international player in its field," noted Juha Vapaavuori,
Director, Sitra and member of the board of directors of Nexstim.
In connection with the new share issue, Dr. Johan Christenson from
HealthCap, and Dr. René Kuijten from LSP will join Nexstim's Board of
Directors.
About Nexstim
Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Nexstim Ltd. was founded by Professor
Risto Ilmoniemi in 2000 to commercialize the combination of stereotacticly
guided TMS and high-resolution EEG measurement. A "spin-out" company of
Helsinki University of Technology, Nexstim has the rights to the broad
intellectual property generated during eight years of scientific research,
primarily at the BioMag laboratory of the Helsinki University Central
Hospital. The company has already delivered over 30 systems to hospitals in
Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and the USA. Nexstim benefits from a revitalized
board and management with long experience in globally commercializing
medical technologies, including at Datex Division/Instrumentarium Corp.
See www.nexstim.com.
About HealthCap
Based in Stockholm, Sweden and Lausanne, Switzerland, HealthCap, is a
family of multi stage venture capital funds, investing internationally in
life sciences, with the Odlander Fredrikson Group as their exclusive
investments advisor. With committed capital exceeding SEK 7 billion,
HealthCap is the largest specialized provider of venture capital within
life sciences in the Nordic countries and one of the largest independent
actors in the sector in Europe. www.healthcap.se
About LSP
LSP (Life Sciences Partners) is a leading independent European venture
capital firm, providing private equity financing to early- to mid-stage
life science companies. Since the late 1980s, LSP's management has invested
in a large number of highly innovative enterprises, many of which have
grown to become leaders of the global life science industry. For example,
LSP was a founding investor in Crucell, DNage, Qiagen, Rhein Biotech and
Pharming. With EUR 400 million under management and offices in Amsterdam,
Munich and Boston, LSP is one of Europe's largest and most experienced
specialist life science investors. www.lspvc.com
About Sitra
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, is an independent public foundation
promoting the well-being of Finnish society under the supervision of the
Finnish Parliament. Sitra's one aim is to generate and develop business
that is both internationally competitive and profitable. Sitra offer
businesses a wide array of development and funding services. Sitra's
portfolio includes some 100 companies. www.sitra.fi
About Finnish Industry Investment
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company.
The company invests the proceeds accrued from the privatization of
state-owned companies in promoting the growth and internationalization of
Finnish businesses. Finnish Industry Investment invests in growth companies
in all branches of industry, either directly or jointly with private
investors. The investments and investment commitments of Finnish Industry
Investment amount to some EUR 430 million. www.industryinvestment.com