NinePoint Medical, Inc., an emerging leader in the development of in vivo pathology devices, today announced it has completed a $33 million Series A financing led by Third Rock Ventures and Prospect Venture Partners. The company also announced the establishment of its corporate headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. where Charles Carignan, M.D., serves as president and chief executive officer.
“We are delighted to partner with Third Rock to fund an innovative medical device company that brings together state-of-the-art technology and the best minds in optics, software and medical device development”
Proceeds from the financing will be used to develop NinePoint's innovative in vivo pathology technology platform. NinePoint intends to utilize this platform to develop and commercialize a portfolio of medical devices designed to positively impact the existing access, diagnosis and treatment paradigm used in the examination of dysplastic, pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. The company also plans to expand its team with approximately 25 new hires over the next 12 months, and eventually intends to run a manufacturing facility at its Cambridge headquarters.
NinePoint's initial focus will be on developing devices for the examination of the gastrointestinal tract. The devices are designed to allow gastroenterologists and offsite pathologists to review advanced tissue images during biopsies and other therapeutic and diagnostic procedures in real time. This capability would potentially provide physicians with immediately actionable information and eventually, the ability to treat the questionable cells at the time of diagnosis. By streamlining the timeline and the steps required to go from diagnosis to treatment, NinePoint believes it can significantly improve patient experiences and outcomes, improve the efficiency of care and provide important savings to the healthcare system. Over time, the company believes that the technology will have broad applicability across a number of diagnostic and therapeutic categories. Further insights on the technology will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
"This is an exciting time for NinePoint," said Dr. Carignan. "With the support and strategic guidance from our founders and advisors, we believe we can successfully develop and commercialize a groundbreaking portfolio of medical devices that may dramatically improve diagnostic and treatment options for patients and physicians. We also look forward to positively impacting the Boston-area economy with the creation of new jobs at our Cambridge facility as we focus on building out a dynamic team to achieve our goals."
Dr. Carignan brings more than 20 years of experience in medical device development to the company. Prior to joining NinePoint, Dr. Carignan was executive vice president and chief medical officer of Novasys Medical, Inc., where he was responsible for the successful launch of a women's health medical device. Prior to that, he was the chief medical officer at Boston Scientific, where he led all aspects of medical and clinical affairs for the endosurgery group, including women's health, urology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, and oncology. Prior to this role he was the vice president of clinical research and medical affairs at Conceptus where he oversaw the clinical development of the Essure device for female sterilization, a device that has changed the standard of care for tubal ligation. He has conducted physician training in more than 50 countries and participated on various committees of the World Health Organization, the Population Council, the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dr. Carignan earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, received his M.D. degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and trained in general surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
"NinePoint Medical is the first medical device company that Third Rock Ventures has seeded and launched, and we are optimistic that the company's unique positioning will successfully change the treatment paradigm in a market with significant unmet needs," said Mark Levin, partner of Third Rock Ventures, and member of the board of NinePoint. "With Chuck's extensive experience in developing and commercializing minimally invasive products and the company's access to advanced, proprietary visualization technology, we believe NinePoint is well positioned to lead the convergence of access, diagnosis and treatment and develop truly transformational medical devices."
"We are delighted to partner with Third Rock to fund an innovative medical device company that brings together state-of-the-art technology and the best minds in optics, software and medical device development," said Russell Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., managing director of Prospect Venture Partners, and member of the board of NinePoint. "The NinePoint model fits well with Prospect's investment philosophy of supporting commercially attractive biomedical enterprises with outstanding entrepreneurial management teams. We look forward to working with NinePoint to advance its programs and technology development."
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