Ceterix Secures Almost $20 Million in Series B Funding

According to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup Ceterix Orthopaedics has raised a further $19.5 million. The company, formerly known as SuturePro Technologies Inc., makes surgical tools for arthroscopic procedures. The company changed its name in April 2011 to better represent the range of products Ceterix planned to launch.

According to Ceterix, its technology enables surgeons to place stitches in very tight joint compartments while protecting sensitive surrounding structures such as nerves, arteries and cartilage. This technology has applications in numerous arthroscopic procedures in knees, hips and shoulders.

Ceterix was established in October 2010. The company was founded based on a meniscus repair device invented by Justin Saliman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. Saliman envisioned improving the outcomes of arthroscopic procedures by enabling surgeons to place suture patterns that today can be done only in open procedures, if at all.

There have been five investors in this round of financing so far, and the company hopes to raise another $1.1 million. Its Series A round of funding in October 2010 yielded $8.1 million from Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures.