Trice Orthopedics Raises Funds, Appoints President

Trice Orthopedics Inc. kicked of the month of May with $3 million in startup capital and the appointment of Richard H. Washburn as its president. The King of Prussia, Pa.-based company is developing a camera-enabled needle technology to improve orthopedic diagnostics and therapeutics.

“It is exciting to be in on the ground floor of a company with a disruptive technology that is tailor-made for today’s healthcare environment,” said Washburn. “Our needle-based solutions will provide minimally invasive ‘eyes-on’ anatomic assessment and delivery of therapeutics via easy-to-use products.”

Washburn has 20 years of experience in new product development and medical device commercialization. Most recently, he was president of Core Essence Orthopaedics Inc. where he developed a strategic refocusing for the struggling maker of orthopedic extremity products, stabilized the company and successfully sold its assets. Prior to Core Essence, Washburn served in a variety of sales and marketing roles over a seven-year period for Globus Medical Inc., a spinal implant manufacturer. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. and his MBA from University of California-Los Angeles’ Anderson School of Management.

“Trice’s board is committed to recruiting the brightest and best to ensure success. We believe that Rick is the embodiment of that commitment,” said Jeffrey O’Donnell, Trice’s executive chairman of the board. “We are excited to have him on board and believe that his prior experience working within large and small startup medical device companies will help Trice to achieve its goals.”

The initial financing was led by BioStar Ventures of Petoskey, Mich., and the Millennium Fund of Santa Clara, Calif. The founders and angel investors filled the round. A second tranche will augment the funding and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013. According to Washburn, “proceeds of the Series A financing will fund Trice through its key inflection points. The capital will enable the company to complete phase I diagnostic product development, regulatory approval, manufacturing and early U.S. commercialization.”

“It is our belief that Trice Orthopedics will change the standard of care for performing a variety of arthroscopic procedures by providing precise, real time, definitive assessment thus improving the outcomes associated with these procedures,” said O’Donnell. “We are grateful to the early stage investors and our individual investors for their participation in this initial round of funding to enable Trice to achieve its goals.”