RefleXion Medical raises $11.6MM in Series A financing
April 3, 2014
Strong Syndicate Also Includes Pfizer Venture Investments and Venrock
BURLINGAME, CA–(Marketwired – April 03, 2014) – RefleXion Medical, a medical device company developing the first biologically-guided radiation therapy system for cancer treatment, announced today that it has closed an $11.6 million Series A financing. The round was led by Paris-based Sofinnova Partners and was joined by Pfizer Venture Investments (PVI), and Venrock.
In conjunction with the financing, Antoine Papiernik from Sofinnova Partners, Bill Burkoth from PVI and Colin Cahill from Venrock will join company Chairman, Jay Watkins, and co-founders, Dr. Samuel Mazin and Akshay Nanduri on RefleXion’s Board of Directors. “We seek to invest in exceptional entrepreneurs who are developing highly disruptive medical technologies. We believe that RefleXion precisely combines those characteristics and are delighted to partner with the company to realize its vision to transform cancer treatment for the benefit of patients,” said Antoine Papiernik, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners.
RefleXion’s technology seamlessly integrates positron emission tomography (PET) with radiation therapy, providing the potential to deliver a higher dose of therapeutic radiation to multiple cancerous lesions and spare surrounding healthy tissue. “By using PET for real-time guidance, the RefleXion system will use the tumor’s own signal to deliver radiation. We finally have a chance to make radiotherapy personal,” said Dr. Samuel Mazin, President of RefleXion and inventor of the company’s core technology.
This ability to treat later-stage patients with highly focused radiation is one of several compelling clinical applications uniquely enabled by RefleXion’s technology. In addition to improving radiotherapy for single primary lesions, the company also believes it can capitalize on novel PET tracers that are being developed to probe biologically relevant characteristics of cancer such as tumor hypoxia, cellular proliferation, DNA synthesis and genetic markers.
Dr. Ralph Weichselbaum, D.K Ludwig Professor and Chairman of Radiation and Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago and RefleXion Scientific Advisory Board member, commented, “I am truly excited by the potential of biologically-guided radiotherapy. Amongst many promising clinical applications, I believe RefleXion’s system will be particularly well-suited for treating oligometastatic disease, which would be a significant advancement in the field.”
Proceeds from the Series A financing are allocated towards expanding RefleXion’s R&D organization and accelerating the system’s development. “With significant funding from a stellar syndicate of medical technology investors, RefleXion can now execute on its operating plan with the objective of demonstrating the capabilities of our breakthrough technology in patients,” said Akshay Nanduri, Vice President of Business Development.
Chairman of RefleXion, Jay Watkins, stated, “Having worked closely with the founders over the past several years, I am pleased to welcome the support and combined expertise of Sofinnova Partners, Venrock and PVI as we continue to build a company which hopes to change the paradigm for cancer treatment.”