Synaptive Medical and General Atlantic Announce Strategic Partnership

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Nov 03, 2016, 08:00 ET

Company plans to build on strong BrightMatter™ momentum and commercialize in worldwide markets

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synaptive Medical, a leading medical device and technology company that pursues connections to transform the process of care, announced today that General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, has made a strategic investment in the company. With over 35 years of experience investing in 250 growth companies and deep expertise in the healthcare and technology sectors, General Atlantic partners with entrepreneurs and management teams around the world to help them accelerate growth and become market leaders.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Toronto, Synaptive develops integrated technologies to solve challenges both in and beyond the operating room through deep collaboration with surgeons and hospitals. The company's BrightMatter™ suite of products provide advanced visual and information tools that allow surgeons to focus on patient outcomes within a global healthcare industry.

"The healthcare industry is shifting toward an integrated delivery model that treats the whole patient from the diagnosis to surgery and beyond. Efficient medical imaging, combined with timely and effective care, is a critical driver of that change. Synaptive is developing novel imaging solutions that will help improve clinical outcomes for patients in partnership with the people and institutions that care for them," said Cameron Piron, President of Synaptive Medical. "Partnering with an outstanding investor such as General Atlantic demonstrates our commitment to long-term growth. We look forward to leveraging GA's deep healthcare expertise and strong track record backing high-growth companies."

The company's surgical technology—which combines informatics, imaging, surgical planning, navigation and advanced optics—has been installed at top-ranked health care facilities across the United States, including recent installations at Emory University Hospital, the Gates Vascular Institute, Grady Health, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital and Mount Sinai. Synaptive also pursues unique collaborations with its customers, such as its recent initiative with Henry Ford Health System to empower ONConnect, a virtual tumor board that aims to offer patients greater transparency in determining their brain tumor treatment options.

"I am pleased about the partnership between Synaptive Medical and growth equity firm General Atlantic," said Reza Moridi, Ontario's Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. "It will help Ontario-based Synaptive continue its rapid growth and provide better outcomes for patients. It is strategic collaborations such as this one that are helping drive Ontario's knowledge-based economy."

Synaptive's partnership with General Atlantic is expected to help accelerate the commercialization of the company's existing solutions across worldwide markets and help provide the foundation for significant investment in new research and product development.

"We are excited to partner with Synaptive's passionate team, whose commitment to innovation, engagement with surgeons, and passion for patient care, has built an incredibly unique suite of products," said David Caluori, Principal at General Atlantic, who will join Synaptive's board of directors. "Synaptive's vision for a better approach to surgery is highly disruptive and is expected to address pain points common to many surgical areas that we expect will enhance patient outcomes over time."

"Synaptive marks the first investment by General Atlantic in the medical device sector, which speaks volumes to the attractive market opportunity we see in the healthcare technology industry," said Alex Crisses, Managing Director at General Atlantic, who will join Synaptive's board of directors as an observer.

Synaptive has successfully cleared its products for clinical use through the stringent review processes of the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, beginning with BrightMatter Plan, its innovative surgical planning tool, which received approval in early 2014 and continuing with approval of the company's more complex surgical navigation and visualization systems. In four years, Synaptive has introduced five Class-II and three Class-I medical devices in the United States and an equivalent number of products in Canada. Most recently, ImageDrive™, Synaptive's flagship informatics platform, received FDA approval in early 2016.

In 2015, Synaptive acquired intellectual property and products from ClearCanvas, a developer of innovative imaging informatics solutions. ClearCanvas technology is the architectural backbone for Synaptive's BrightMatter products, including BrightMatter Plan, and currently has approximately 60,000 worldwide users.

About Synaptive Medical
Synaptive Medical Inc., a Toronto-based medical device and technology company, has a talented team of scientists, engineers, locally-based customer care specialists and business experts specifically committed to developing and supporting surgical technologies and therapies. Their BrightMatter™ products provide advanced tools and information that allow surgeons to focus on patient outcomes. From advanced visualization and guidance to their first hands-free surgical scope, Synaptive Medical collaborates with surgeons, hospitals and industry partners to evolve the standard of care for surgical intervention. For more information, watch a video called "Synaptive — Connections Come to Life" or visit https://www.synaptivemedical.com/.

About General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide. The firm's Global Healthcare sector team, led by Managing Director Robbert Vorhoff, has made recent investments in healthcare companies including Alignment Healthcare, CitiusTech, eviCore Healthcare, Oak Street Health, Ourofino Saude Animal, and Sanfer. General Atlantic has more than 100 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, and Singapore. www.generalatlantic.com