Medicrea Raising 20 Million Euros in Funds to Further Market Expansion of UNiD Rod Portfolio

MEDICREA, a developer and manufacturer of personalized analytical services and implant solutions for the treatment of complex spinal conditions, has entered into agreements to raise 20 million euros to support further U.S. market penetration of the UNiD Patient-Specific Rods and to begin commercializing the technology in new international markets. In addition, Medicrea has appointed Richard Kienzle as chief commercial officer and business development officer. Kienzle will also join the company’s Board of Directors.
 
The financing consists of four years, 6.75 percent 15 million euros convertible bonds and 5 million euros in equity.
 
The sole investor in the convertible bonds is U.S. healthcare investor Athyrium Capital Management. The nominal amount of the issuance will be 15 million euros represented by 2.4 million bonds each with a par value of 6.25 euros. The convertible bonds will bear interest at an annual nominal rate of 6.75 percent, payable on a quarterly basis in arrears. The convertible bonds will be due Aug. 12, 2020. Each bond is convertible into new ordinary shares of the company (at the initial conversion ratio of one share for one bond subject to adjustment) at a price per share amounting to 6.25 euros, a 22.5 percent premium to the five-day volume weighted average stock price prior to the transaction. The payment of all sums due in relation to the convertible bonds will be irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed from the issue date by Medicrea USA Corp. The terms of the convertible bonds contain certain financial covenants.

“We are pleased to invest in the acceleration of Medicrea’s global commercialization efforts,” said Richard Pines, partner with Athyrium Capital Management. “With UNiD, surgeons can more precisely achieve their surgical goals and restore proper sagittal alignment for their patients, a predictor of success for complex spine procedures. The technology’s personalized services and  approach to spine surgery offer growth potential with tens of thousands of complex multi-level fusions occurring each year in the U.S. We are also glad to see Rick Kienzle joining Medicrea. Rick is a successful spine executive with a deep network in complex spine. We expect he will have a positive impact on the global sales and marketing activities of Medicrea.”
 
In the equity private placement, Medicrea will issue 1,028,803 common shares with a nominal value of 0.16 euros at a price of 4.86 euros, which represents a discount of 5 percent compared to the three-day volume weighted average stock price prior to the transaction. The 1,028,803 shares represent the maximum number of shares to be issued as per the 12th resolution of the ordinary and extraordinary general shareholders meeting of Medicrea of June 3, 2015.
 
“This financing represents a significant milestone for Medicrea. It is the largest fund-raising undertaken in the company’s history since Medicrea went public in Europe on the Alternext market and attracting such a high- quality U.S. healthcare investor as Athyrium is a true testament to the strong position Medicrea has taken as the leader in personalized spine care,” Medicrea CEO and Co-Founder Denys Sournac said. “I am equally excited to welcome Rick Kienzle to the Medicrea team. His experience in the spine industry will be a significant asset to us as we continue to execute on our growth strategy for UNiD.”

Kienzle was a founding member of Globus Medical, a musculoskeletal implant manufacturer. Serving as the company’s executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, he helped lead Globus from a non-revenue generating company to $280 million in sales in seven years. Kienzle has 25 years of executive sales management experience across industry-leading orthopedic companies, including Globus Medical, Synthes Inc. and US Surgical.
 
“I am pleased to join Medicrea at such a critical juncture in the company’s development,” said Kienzle. “I believe Medicrea to be a true pioneer in the global spine industry with data-driven, value- based, next-generation and comprehensive solutions for the personalized complex spine market. The U.S. market opportunity is profound. I look forward to working with the entire Medicrea team to deploy these significant resources efficiently and effectively as Medicrea reshapes the complex spine paradigm and rapidly expands its commercialization efforts with UNiD and the entire suite of personalized and optimized technologies.”
 
To date, Medicrea has collaborated in nearly 900 UNiD surgeries with a growing number of healthcare providers who recognize the value of Patient-Specific UNiD Rods to reduce operation times and enhance patient outcomes using clinically-proven sagittal alignment parameters. Each case is also supported by Medicrea’s end-to-end analytical service to further develop the company’s collaboration with surgeons and providers for improved patient care that can be defined through an expanding scientific data set.

Surgeons and patients describe the impact of UNiD in the video below:

 

“There are now significant forces aligning behind Medicrea’s efforts to bring personalized, value-based solutions to spine: We own a unique market space with an unrivaled technology in UNiD; our core management team has never been stronger or more connected with Rick on board, and; we have the security to focus on rapid commercialization with Athyrium’s backing and other key investors in place,” Sourmac said.
 
Raymond James & Associates Inc. acted as sole placement agent for the transactions.
 
The Medicrea Group develops outcome-focused technologies, including the UNiD technology platform of Patient-Specific implants and analytical services, which received the first-ever U.S. Food and Drug Administration Clearance in November 2014.
 
Athyrium Capital Management LP is a specialized asset management company formed in 2008 to focus on investment opportunities in the global healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2016, Athyrium had over $ 1.7 billion of assets under management. The Athyrium team has substantial investment experience in the healthcare sector across a wide range of asset classes including public equity, private equity, fixed income, royalties, and other structured securities. Athyrium invests across all healthcare verticals including biopharma, medical devices and products, and healthcare focused services.