Minimally Invasive Devices Raises $9M

Minimally Invasive Devices Inc. has raised $9 million in Series B financing. Canaan Partners led the round, with participation from Charter Life Science, an existing backer. As part of the round, Brent Ahrens, general partner at Canaan Partners has been appointed to the board. The company also announced that it added Jim Bobbitt as vice president of sales.

PRESS RELEASE
Minimally Invasive Devices,
Inc. (MID), today announced it has completed a $9 million Series B financing
led by Canaan Partners. Charter Life Science, an existing investor, also
participated in the financing. Coinciding with the close of the Series B, Brent
Ahrens, general partner at Canaan Partners has been appointed to the board of
directors and Jim Bobbitt has been appointed vice president of sales.

Funds from the Series B will be utilized to establish a direct sales force,
expand manufacturing operations, develop complimentary products and generate
additional data to support the efficacy of the FDA-approved FloShield
laparoscopic vision system, the first device that prevents loss of vision during
laparoscopic surgery due to obscuration of the optics.

“Modern high definition video systems give surgeons a crystal clear view of a
patient’s organs during laparoscopic surgery, but only when the optics are
clean,” noted Wayne Poll, M.D., founder and CEO of MID. “Obscuration of images
due to contaminants on the optics is a real problem that surgeons have long
taken for granted. It’s rather like purchasing a high-end digital camera and
being satisfied with photos taken through a dirty lens.”

The performance of laparoscopic surgery is significantly enhanced by modern high
definition (HD) video systems, yet fat, smoke or other contaminants can settle
on the optics and obscure the images. Surgeons may be forced to stop their
procedures, remove the camera from the patient, and clean the optics up to ten
times an hour.

MID’s FloShield laparoscopic vision system attaches to the HD camera system and
uses an air curtain to form an invisible protective barrier over the lens. This
system is augmented by the Flo-X lens wash, a biocompatible surfactant that will
flush the lens inside the body if needed, so that surgeons may operate without
loss of vision and without lens removal.

“The problem of dirty lenses in laparoscopic surgery is taken for granted as a
cost of using the minimally invasive procedure,” noted Brent Ahrens, General
Partner at Canaan Partners. “FloShield is an elegant solution to this very real
problem and has the potential to be expanded to other endoscopy platforms. MID
is a natural investment for Canaan.”

Jim Bobbitt brings decades of experience in medical device sales to MID. Most
recently, he served as vice president of sales and marketing for Neomend, Inc.,
a medical device start-up focusing on surgical sealants that was acquired by C.
R. Bard. Prior to that, he was vice president of sales and corporate services
for USHIFU, a privately held company developing a device to treat prostate
cancer.

About Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc.

Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc. (MID) has developed and manufactures the
FloShield laparoscopic vision system, the first device that prevents loss of
vision during laparoscopic surgery due to obscuration of the optics.