Neurodevice Firm SPR™ Therapeutics Raises $5M Series A

CLEVELAND, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurodevice firm SPR™ Therapeutics has raised $5 million in Series A financing from NDI Healthcare Fund, Public Square Partners, and individual investors. These funds will be used to commercialize pain therapies utilizing SPR's proprietary peripheral nerve stimulation technology.

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"We will be conducting clinical studies in multiple pain indications, including post-operative joint pain, low back pain, and a pivotal trial to support FDA clearance for use of our Smartpatch system in treating our first indication, post-stroke shoulder pain," said Maria Bennett, President and CEO of SPR Therapeutics. "And within the beginning of the year we expect to secure CE mark to allow Smartpatch to be sold in Europe for chronic shoulder pain."

Since its founding in January 2010, SPR Therapeutics has raised over $10.7 million, including $5 million in private equity and an additional $5.7 million in non-dilutive funding including grants and loans from the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, and the State of Ohio.

SPR invests these funds in its proprietary neurodevice technology platform, which is being developed to address a spectrum of pain indications affecting over 116 million Americans, including acute and chronic joint pain and post-amputation pain. The company's Micropulse® investigational pain therapy device was featured in Bloomberg News as one of the top 16 recent medical devices in human augmentation.

The SPR™ System uses a proprietary method of peripheral nerve stimulation to treat pain, with electrodes positioned in proximity to but not directly contacting peripheral nerves. The SPR System (an investigational device that is limited by U.S. law to investigational use) consists of two independent products for the treatment of pain.  First, the SMARTPATCH™ system is intended to be used for up to 30 days.  If the patient experiences a return of pain after the Smartpatch therapy, SPR has developed a fully implantable MICROPULSE® system for long-term pain management. SPR's pain therapy platform is non-narcotic, reversible, and has demonstrated significant pain relief in multiple studies.

About SPR™ Therapeutics

SPR™ Therapeutics (Stimulation for Pain Relief) is a medical device company that has developed a revolutionary and proprietary peripheral nerve stimulation therapy platform to addresses critical unmet needs for less invasive, longer lasting, and cost effective treatment for acute and chronic pain.  SPR Therapeutics was formed in January 2010 as a portfolio company of NDI Medical, LLC. For more information, visit www.sprtherapeutics.com.

About NDI Healthcare Fund

NDI is a leading venture capital and commercialization firm focusing on innovative neurodevice technologies to address significant unmet health conditions, improve patients' lives, and provide significant returns to investors. Founded in 2002, NDI leverages its platform of innovative technologies to commercialize an extensive pipeline of neurotech opportunities, creating high-growth portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.ndimedical.com.

About Public Square Partners I LLC

Public Square Partners I LLC is an investment fund making private, non-controlling equity and debt investments in both mature and early-stage companies. The fund's investments are typically made in leveraged buyout, recapitalization and venture capital transactions on a co-investment basis alongside the lead investor in such transactions. The fund is managed by the partners of Western Reserve Partners LLC, a FINRA-member investment banking firm, who have extensive experience in selecting and negotiating public as well as private equity and debt investments on behalf of their clients. For more information, please contact Ralph Della Ratta at (216) 589-9557 or [email protected].

SOURCE SPR Therapeutics