PhotoThera, the developer of transcranial laser therapy designed for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke within 24 hours of stroke onset, has closed a USD50m series D round of financ
PhotoThera, the developer of transcranial laser therapy designed for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke within 24 hours of stroke onset, has closed a USD50m series D round of financing led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
The financing will fund a planned follow-on phase III Nest-3 (NeuroThera Effectiveness and Safety Trial) clinical study. The company previously announced that Nest-3 would build upon the results of its Nest-2 trial, which revealed a statistically significant treatment effect for patients with moderate to moderately severe ischemic strokes using a post-hoc data analysis.
In addition to Warburg Pincus, participating investors include The Vertical Group, Hamilton BioVentures, Delphi Ventures, DeNovo Ventures, and certain individual members of Monterey Advisors.
PhotoThera has also announced that Arthur T. Taylor, former chief operating officer of Kyphon, has been appointed as president and chief executive officer. Taylor succeeds Thomas C. Wilder III who has decided to pursue other opportunities after successfully securing the series D funding and serving as the company’s president and chief executive officer since April 2006.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to lead PhotoThera during this critical period of building the clinical evidence to support use of our TLT technology in treating acute ischemic stroke patients," says Taylor.
Taylor most recently served as vice president and general manager for the Kyphon Products, Spinal & Biologics Business of Medtronic. Prior to Medtronic’s acquisition of Kyphon in late 2007, Taylor served as Kyphon’s chief operating officer from 2006, and as chief financial officer from 2004 through 2006.
Prior to his Kyphon tenure, Taylor gained in-depth experience across the medical device industry while serving as chief financial officer for ReSound, a hearing healthcare company, and in executive positions with Allergan and American Hospital Supply.
"With the strong foundation Tom Wilder helped to build and the addition to the team of Art’s deep operating expertise, I believe we are well positioned to take full advantage of our promising Nest-2 results with the launch of Nest-3 to secure the necessary data to support commercialization of our TLT technology," says Jackson Streeter, founder and executive chairman, PhotoThera.
