Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Spine Wave pins down investment, partner in Memphis

By Rodney H. Brown

Connecticut medical device company Spine Wave Inc. is partnering with a brand new product development company in Memphis, Tenn., called MB Innovations, a creation of MB Venture Partners, which will also be investing in Spine Wave.

Shelton-based Spine Wave and MB Venture Partners have been discussing possibilities for collaboration for more than a year, according to a release. Mike Sherman, a partner at MB Venture Partners, will serve as executive chairman of newly established MBI, which at first will work exclusively on Spine Wave product development. The amount of the MB Venture Partners investment in Spine Wave was not disclosed.

In the release, John Pafford, Spine Wave’s CTO, said that he was “confident that MBI will accelerate the pace at which we execute on our mission of delivering important and highly differentiated technologies to the spine surgeon community.”

Among the devices Spine Wave makes is the StaXx XDL Expandable Device, a PEEK spacer, intended for spinal fusion through lateral surgery. The device won marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August. Another device is the NuCore Injectable Nucleus Device, an alternative treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease than surgery, which is an injectable synthetic polymer intended to resemble a natural nucleus. The NuCore device, now in a second generation version, entered into a clinical study in Europe in October.

In February, Spine Wave raised $17.5 million in a funding round led by return backer New Enterprise Associates, with additional support from Morgenthaler Ventures, Compass Global Fund, New Leaf Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Foundation Medical Partners and Memphis Implant Partners. At the time, Spine Wave planned to use the funding to assist in bringing its NuCore Injectable Nucleus to clinical trials.