Trice Medical pulls in funding from a key strategic to fuel commercialization

Smith & Nephew gets in on $19m Trice Medical Series C (MassDevice)

Trice Medical said today it closed a $19.3 million Series C financing round, joined by major player Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN), with funds slated to support US market penetration of its mi-eye2 orthopedic diagnostic device.

Newly invested Smith & Nephew was joined by Safeguard Scientifics, HealthQuest Capital, BioStar Ventures and other unnamed returning investors in the round. The U.K.-based company said it has raised $40.9 million to date.

“This is a significant milestone for Trice Medical as we looking to expand our sales, marketing and commercialization efforts and bolster our workforce. We’re proud to add Smith & Nephew to our list of investors and look forward to being able to leverage their global experience as we roll out additional mi-eye products in the future,” Trice CEO & prez Jeffrey O’Donnell, Sr. said in a press release.

Trice won FDA 510(k) clearance for the mi-eye2 during the 4th quarter last year. The device is designed with a disposable needle embedded with a wide-angle camera lens to allow physician to diagnose joint injuries in the office, without need of an MRI, the company said.

“I am extremely excited to have the ability to offer safe, cutting edge technology to my patients. By using the mi-eye, my patients are able to obtain the answer to their cause of pain immediately and start their road to recovery 2 to 3 weeks quicker than if they had an MRI. The most exciting part about using the mi-eye is the increasing number of patients who are calling up and specifically asking for the procedure. Our patients are seeking out innovative technology that is both fast, convenient, and cost effective. This financial support from our existing and new investors gives us the runway we need to fulfill our mission – to provide more immediate and definitive patient care, eliminating the false reads associated with current indirect modalities and significantly reduce the overall cost to the healthcare system. We can now attract the talent we need to scale to make mi-eye the standard of care in diagnostic imaging,” Dr. Sean McMillan of Our Lady of Lourdes said in a prepared statement.