$15M Infusion to Expand NICO’s Presence
NICO is looking to expand the use of its BrainPath technology (pictured).
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based NICO Corp. has raised $15 million in capital. The neurosurgery medical device manufacturer says the funding will support additional staff, a clinical trial and expanding its footprint outside of North America.
NICO says the bulk of the funding, $10 million, came from River Cities Capital Funds and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. RCCF has offices in Cincinnati and North Carolina.
The company says it’s now in a "strong position to aggressively respond to a market enthusiastic" about its technology. Chief Executive Officer Jim Pearson says "we have a solid foundation of clinical and economic evidence, and that evidence continues to grow, giving us added momentum for controlled market expansion and deliberate steps toward setting a new standard of care in neurosurgery."
The infusion nearly doubles NICO’s previous fundraising totals.
RCCF Managing Director Carter McNabb calls it one of the firm’s most exciting investments. "NICO represents one of those rare opportunities that a company can both create and define a standard of care in a space where none currently exists and establish a medical device franchise in one of the last untapped frontiers of the human body, the brain. There is growing clinical consensus that using the BrainPath Approach for subcortical access, resection and tissue preservation will be the foundation of a new standard of care," he said.
The trail has attracted interest from more than 50 major health care centers. Only 10-15 will qualify to participate. NICO says its BrainPath technology allows for minimally disruptive access to the difficult-to-reach subcortical region of the brain. According to the company, more than 3,000 BrainPath procedures have already been performed successfully in the U.S.