September 16, 2020
BOSTON and LONDON, Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Signifier Medical Technologies (“Signifier”), an innovator in the sleep disordered breathing market, today announced it has closed a circa $10M Series C funding round led by Alan Howard, VC investor and co-founder of Brevan Howard. The proceeds from this latest successful fundraising will allow Signifier to invest further in its innovative and non-invasive solutions for patients with sleep disordered breathing conditions.
The financing round also included participation from James Blair, a career healthcare venture capitalist and Partner/Co-founder of Domain Associates as an additional new investor in Signifier. Existing investors participating in the round included The Pritzker Organization and Signifier’s Chairman Kieran Gallahue, former CEO of both CareFusion, Inc. and Resmed Inc.
Alan Howard commented: “I look for companies that are addressing extensive market opportunities, are rapidly growing, and have experienced leadership teams. I strongly believe Signifier is one of those companies, and I am pleased to support its transformational innovation to address sleep and breathing disorders and chronic care management.”
Joseph Gleberman, Managing Director of The Pritzker Organization, added: “We are pleased to continue supporting Signifier’s breakthrough technology for treating both chronic snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.”
James Blair noted: “I am delighted to become an investor in Signifier, which is combining the tools of information technology with the knowledge of leading physicians to improve the daily lives of millions of people suffering from sleep disordered breathing both conveniently and inexpensively.”
Signifier is continuing to build its operations and infrastructure in preparation for global commercialization of its eXciteOSA® device for mild sleep apnea, while expanding commercialization of its Snoozeal® device for primary snoring.
Akhil Tripathi, CEO and co-founder of Signifier Medical added “I am delighted to have attracted such prominent and well-known investors in our latest financing round. Our non-invasive tongue muscle-neurostimulation devices are the first and only technologies being developed to solve the conditions of mild sleep apnea and snoring and make a real impact on the lives of millions of people worldwide. We recently announced the appointments of Philip Hess, former President and CEO of Bose Corporation, as Chief Operating Officer based in Boston, US, as well as Matt Sharris as Vice President of Sales in the North American market and Steve Saunders as Head of Sales in EMEA. With the addition of this latest financing round we are well prepared to accelerate the commercial phase of our development.”
For more information, please contact:
Signifier Medical
Email: info@signifiermedical.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7096 0586
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Frazer Hall/Mark Swallow
Email: signifiermedical@citigatedewerogerson.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571
About Signifier Medical Technologies
Signifier Medical Technologies is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative and non-invasive solutions for patients with snoring and sleep disordered breathing conditions.
Signifier’s proprietary therapy is the first and only daytime genioglossal (tongue) muscle-neurostimulation technology for snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea, supported by clinical data from prestigious and well-recognized universities and academic institutions, that provides a safe and effective treatment for its patients.1-3
For more information, please visit www.signifiermedical.com.
About Snoring and OSA
Nearly 1 billion adults aged 30 to 69 years are estimated to have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) globally. There is a strong, clinically proven link between OSA and co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, and strokes. Mild OSA affects over 110 million people in the US and 100 million people in Europe.
Obstructive sleep apnea is marked by the recurring collapse of the upper airways during sleep. The most common symptoms are restless sleep, snoring, tiredness during the day, decreased intellectual alertness, and personality alterations. Higher risks of cardiovascular diseases and increased mortality rates have been associated with OSA.
Standard therapy of all advanced levels of sleep apnea is with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. Many patients find this therapy invasive, and the long-term compliance of CPAP therapy is limited, so there is a clear demand for new forms of treatment.
References
1. Wessolleck E, Bernd E, Dockter S, et al. Intraoral electrical muscle stimulation in the treatment of snoring. Somnologie (Berl). 2018; 22 (Suppl 2): 47–52.
2. Sama A, et al. Daytime Intraoral Neurostimulation with Snoozeal® for Treatment of Snoring and Mild Sleep Apnea. CHEST Annual Meeting Notes. 2018.
3. Clinical study of 115 patients with snoring or mild OSA (Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI<15)). Objective snoring and respiratory parameters were recorded with 2 consecutive WatchPat night sleep studies before and after the use of the device. An intra-oral tongue stimulator device was used for 20mins, once a day for a 6-week period.
SOURCE Signifier Medical Technologies