Moximed Closes $33 Million Financing Round

Moximed Inc. has raised $33 million in private equity to help patients suffering from knee pain.

The round included new investor Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd. and returning investors New Enterprise Associates, Gilde Healthcare Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures and GBS Venture Partners. Christopher Shen, M.D., managing director and head of U.S. healthcare investing at Vertex, will join the board of directors as part of the investment. The company has raised $80.6 million to date.

“We are excited to add Vertex as a new investor, and we gratefully appreciate the continued support of our previous investors. The new capital will support the company’s efforts to gain FDA approval of the KineSpring System and grow commercial sales in Europe,” CEO Kevin Sidow said. “We continue to be encouraged by the relief brought to patients worldwide by the KineSpring System and by the strong interest in a joint preserving treatment that allows patients to maintain the lifestyle they expect and deserve.”

The KineSpring System is a treatment option for pre-arthroplasty patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis that find conservative therapy, such as pain medication and knee braces, unsuccessful but who are not ready for full joint-altering knee surgery. The KineSpring System is implanted in the subcutaneous tissue alongside the joint to cushion the knee from excessive loading. Importantly, the KineSpring System is completely joint-sparing so future treatment options are maintained. The KineSpring System — CE marked and available in major European markets — has been implanted in more than 1,000 cases worldwide. It is investigational in the United States.

“Vertex shares Moximed’s vision of the vast opportunity to make joint unloading a standard of care for osteoarthritis patients. A procedure that could potentially avoid or delay joint replacement and costly revision arthroplasty surgeries would appeal to all stakeholders: patients, surgeons, payers, and employers,” Shen said in a news release announcing the new financing.

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, is a degenerative disease affecting the hands, knees, hips, feet and spine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, OA affects 27 million adults in the United States. It is caused by changes in cartilage, the soft tissue that cushions and protects bone, leading to pain and changes in the shape of the joint. In knee OA, as the cartilage wears away, the bone ends may begin to rub against each other, causing severe pain. While drugs and certain cartilage repair procedures may temporarily relieve pain, they often do not treat the underlying problems that led to OA. Conversely, research suggests that if the excess stress on the joint is removed, as with the KineSpring System, pain may decrease and the natural joint tissues may demonstrate some recovery.

“The clinical benefit of joint unloading is proven to reduce pain. However, while some methods of unloading will transfer the load to other parts of the knee and can actually accelerate OA progression, the KineSpring System has been shown to reduce overall loading on the knee and can be a valuable treatment option. In my practice, patients have been very interested in exploring this treatment option,” said professor Philipp Niemeyer, M.D., of the University of Freiburg and a clinical investigator in Moximed’s GOAL Study.

Based in Hayward, Calif., Moximed develops osteoarthritis treatments and therapies. The company was founded in 2006.