Ares Capital has closed its first venture finance transaction with Respicardia, an early stage company developing a medical device targeted to improve respiratory and cardiovascular health by treating central sleep apnea.
Ares Capital served as lead agent in a USD6m senior secured credit facility to provide working capital for Respicardia’s completion of its pilot study.
Respicardia is in the clinical trial phase of the development of its remede system, a fully implantable stimulation device that is designed to restore a more natural breathing pattern during sleep in patients with central sleep apnea, a widespread sleep disorder characterised by a lack of respiratory effort by the diaphragm and associated with a higher rate of ventricular arrhythmias.
Respicardia is backed by five life sciences-focused venture capital firms: Three Arch Partners, Versant Ventures, Polaris Ventures Partners, Accuitive Medical Ventures and Affinity Capital Management.
"We are pleased to close our first venture finance transaction with Respicardia," says William DeMars, managing director of Ares Capital’s investment adviser.
"Ares Capital provided flexible capital for us to continue the clinical trial phase in the development of the remede System," says Bonnie Labosky, president and chief executive officer of Respicardia. "The Ares team was extremely efficient in putting this facility into place and knowledgeable of our industry."
