Aleva Neurotherapeutics, a developer of next-generation implants for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in major neurological indications such as Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor, has raised USD 18 million in a Series C financing round.
The round was led by Greatbatch (NYSE:GB), a strategic lead investor contributing a total of USD5 million to the transaction. In February 2016, Aleva and Greatbatch announced the closing of a strategic development, supply and manufacturing agreement. In addition, Aleva will combine their innovative directional lead technology with the proprietary neurostimulation platform of Nuvectra, a recent spin-off from Greatbatch.
Aleva’s existing investors (BioMedPartners, BB Biotech Ventures, Banexi Ventures and Initiative Capital Romandie) and a group of select Family Offices with significant experience in medical device investments have added to the round, including Kinled Holding and Forrestal Capital.
The proceeds of the financing will be used to obtain the CE mark for Aleva’s proprietary directSTIM Directional Deep Brain Stimulation System in 2017. The successful results of Aleva’s directSTN pilot study were published in Brain in 2014. Further milestones include the completion of a study for the spiderSTIM neurosurgical mapping device in Parkinson’s disease patients in 2016.
"I would like to thank our new and existing investors for significant support towards the advanced development of our products, designed to deliver improved therapeutic outcomes for Parkinson´s patients," says André Mercanzini PhD, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Aleva.
“We received strong interest from investors. We completed the first closing, but are still accepting additional investments from qualified investors for a limited time," says Oern Stuge MD, Executive Chairman of Aleva.
"The neuromodulation space represents a significant growth opportunity," says Anthony Borowicz, VP Business Development of Greatbatch, Inc. and newly appointed Aleva Board member, "We are delighted to be part of this exciting opportunity and together with our spin-off Nuvectra will support Aleva in every aspect of preparing for the market launch of directSTIM."
“Nuvectra would like to congratulate Aleva on the success of their Series C financing round," says Scott Drees, Chief Executive Officer of Nuvectra (NVTR). “Nuvectra is proud to be working with Aleva to combine their innovative directional lead technology with Nuvectra’s proprietary neurostimulation platform. Successfully obtaining CE mark for the complete Aleva directSTIM DBS system will offer a compelling new therapy option for physicians and their patients.”
