MONTREAL, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ - iNovia Capital, a Montreal-based manager of venture capital funds, today announced its investment in BaroSense, Inc, as part of the company's Series B' financing round. BaroSense is a privately-held medical device company specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of obesity.

There are over 400 million people worldwide considered as obese. Despite proven clinical benefits of surgical weight reduction procedures, including bariatric surgery, it is estimated that less than 1% of the population eligible for these procedures actually goes for surgery. "There is an important unmet medical need considering the potential long term impact of obesity on patients' health and on the overall cost to healthcare systems." said Etienne Lagace from iNovia Capital. "Effective and minimally invasive interventions that are reversible and do not affect patients' anatomy should be viewed very positively by patients and their caretakers, especially if they can also reduce the complications associated with bariatric surgery."

"We are glad to join a strong group of investors in this financing round" said Cedric Bisson, MD, Managing partner, Life sciences at iNovia Capital. "BaroSense works with leading centers in bariatric surgery such as Hopital Laval in Quebec City, Canada and the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and plans to expand its trials to US sites once regulatory approval is obtained."

"We are pleased to have iNovia participate in this round of financing" said Daniel Balbierz, President and CEO of BaroSense. "This round should allow the company to complete U.S. clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval to commercialize its lead product."

About BaroSense

BaroSense is focused on creating a safe, effective, and minimally invasive alternative to the surgical treatment of obesity - an innovative approach to assist those people who need help beyond traditional diets, and who wish to avoid extensive, irreversible surgery. BaroSense has assembled thought leaders from gastroenterology, bariatric surgery, and endocrinology, to help tackle the growing epidemic of obesity. BaroSense was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA.

About iNovia Capital

iNovia Capital manages seed and early stage venture capital funds, with a focus on helping entrepreneurs build successful companies in information technology, life sciences and cleantech. iNovia's value-added approach to early stage investing provides portfolio companies with capital, unique access to intellectual property from its extensive network of industry and academic partners, advisors and sector-specific co-investors. For more information, visit www.inoviacapital.com or follow iNovia on Twitter at http://twitter.com/inovia.

SOURCE INOVIA CAPITAL

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