New YORK–(BUSINESS NEWS)-The company Synchron, a brain-computer interface platform business, has today announced that it had secured $40 million from a Series B round financing which Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures led. Synchron is the market leader in implantable, minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology that uses the jugular vein as a conduit to allow access to the brain. Synchron has begun the first clinical trial in Australia, including four patients who have paralysis and have received implantation. They are being evaluated for their capability to control digital devices with the help of thought to increase their ability to function independently.
“This technology is poised to positively impact the world at a large scale,” said Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley, MD, Ph.D. “The money will take us through clinical trials and opens the way for an initial FDA approval for implantable computers for the brain for the brain: an important step towards realizing the therapeutic benefits of this new technology.”
The funds will be used to start a pivotal clinical trial of the U.S. of Synchron’s StentrodeTM technology that will allow digital devices for those with leg paralysis. The funds can fund an innovation pipeline for stimulation and neurointerventional products to treat multiple neurological disorders.
The other investors included Forepont Capital Partners, ID8 Investments, Shanda Group, General Advance, and Subversive Capital (Michael Auerbach). Mind Capital (Christian Angermayer), Arani Bose (Penumbra), and Thomas Reardon. Existing investors also participated in the round, including NeuroTechnology Investors, METIS Innovations, and the University of Melbourne. This round brings the amount of money raised from the company’s creation to $59 million with support provided by both government officials from the U.S. and Australian governments.
“We believe that Synchron’s minimally-invasive approach that brings the idea of stents commonly used in modern times is going to define the next generation of brain-machine interface,” stated Alex Morgan, MD, Ph.D., an associate at Khosla Ventures. “My uncle had a stroke, and the resultant paralysis forced him to use the wheelchair, which limited his arm movement and legs, which makes Synchron’s future emphasis on paralysis an idea that resonates with me.”
Synchron’s motor-neuroprosthetic platform, which includes the Stentrode, is designed to improve patients’ capability to use their digital devices. The neuroprosthesis is made to transform the thoughts of actions into Bluetooth commands, allowing the communication of their caregivers and family members and increasing their everyday functionality. The device is implanted by a minimally invasive neurointerventional procedure commonly employed to treat stroke.
“By using the blood vessels as the natural highway into the brain, we can access all areas, which traditionally required open surgery and removal of the skull in multiple locations,” added Dr. Oxley, a trained neuro interventionist.
Synchron has more than 60 patents for interventional electrophysiology that span conditions like epilepsy, paralysis, depression, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as pain addiction and other non-medical applications.
“Future generation of the Stentrode could provide completely new possibilities in direct two-way communication with the human brain, as well as the potential to treat a wide variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses and address vast areas of unmet needs,” added Dr. Morgan.
Synchron is a brain interface platform firm that is an innovator in implantable neural interfaces. The company is currently at the stage of clinical development with an implantable neuroprosthesis commercially available to treat paralysis and is now creating the first endovascular implantable neuromodulation therapy. Future applications could include the possibility of diagnosing and treating diseases of the nervous system disorders, such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s depression, hypertension, and other conditions, as well as non-medical options. Based in New York City, Synchron has offices in Silicon Valley, California, and R&D facilities in Melbourne, Australia.
