PhotoniCare – a medical device company dedicated to delivering innovation to frontline care that demonstrably enhances patient outcomes – announced that it has secured $4.6 million in Series B funding, formed a manufacturing partnership with Gentex Corporation for its FDA-cleared OtoSight Middle Ear Scope, and finalized the relocation of its headquarters from Champaign, Illinois to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The new funding is the first close in an expected $9 million round.
Middle ear infections are known as the leading cause of hearing loss, surgery and antibiotic use, especially in children. Children can suffer from recurring ear infections for six months to a year before they are referred to an ENT specialist, and are often prescribed increasingly potent antibiotics during this time. The endpoint of the disease is insertion of tympanostomy tubes in the eardrum. Over a million tube surgeries are performed in the U.S. alone every year.
Utilizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) high resolution depth imaging, PhotoniCare’s OtoSight Middle Ear Scope helps to determine the presence or absence of fluid in the middle ear and to characterize the fluid type, even in the presence of significant ear wax. So pediatric, family medicine, and urgent care clinicians can more effectively diagnosis, treat, and monitor middle ear infections.
OtoSight is the first FDA-cleared device for middle-ear visualization, offering a new revenue source for providers with unique CPT codes. OtoSight has significant commercial traction, having served more than 26,000 patients, validating product-market fit. And the company has previously published three peer-reviewed manuscripts demonstrating the utility of the device, and a large randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) is underway to help drive continued reimbursement strategy and market adoption.
PhotoniCare previously raised $17 million in private funding, welcoming partners such as Plains Ventures, OSF Healthcare Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Julz Co., and Dreampact Ventures. The company also previously received more than $6 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
KEY QUOTES:
“We are very pleased to have secured the first close of our Series B financing led by Gentex Corporation, with continued participation and support from long-time PhotoniCare shareholder, Michigan Capital Network. PhotoniCare will use the proceeds to support our ongoing clinical trial, ramp production and sales of our OtoSight Middle Ear Scope, relocate our headquarters to work more closely with our new manufacturing partner, Gentex, and be nearer to our valued Michigan investor base. We are in the process of securing additional investment and expect to close out the full $9 million round in the next few months.”
– Cary Vance, President and CEO of PhotoniCare
“Gentex is proud to invest and become a manufacturing partner of PhotoniCare to build upon the company’s early commercial traction and make its OtoSight Middle Ear Scope widely available to providers actively involved in the diagnosis and treatment of middle ear infections.”
– Robert Vance, Vice President of New Markets at Gentex Corporation
“We are extremely pleased to expand our investment in PhotoniCare as the company ramps up its efforts to commercialize its novel platform for front-line ear care. PhotoniCare’s technology will drastically improve care for middle ear infections, which is the leading cause of hearing loss, antibiotic use, and surgeries in children.”
– Paul D’Amato, CEO and Managing Director of Michigan Capital Network
