Colorado’s Surefire Bags $12.8 Million Series D

WESTMINSTER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Surefire Medical, Inc., the developer of site-specific delivery devices for the Interventional Oncology market, today announced the first closing of a $12.8 M Series D financing round.

“We are very pleased to welcome the ORI Fund. This series D financing supports our core liver cancer business by expanding to large untapped markets as well as expanding our business model through partnerships with biotechnology companies developing immunotherapies for solid tumors.”

Surefire Medical will use the round, led by ORI Healthcare Fund (ORI Fund) and with continued support from previous funders, to:

• Expand sales and marketing in the U.S. and Europe
• Initiate sales and clinical trials in the multibillion dollar China market
• Complete the 170-patient randomized controlled QED clinical trial (NCT02748161)
• Pursue promising opportunities in the $66B immunotherapy market, focusing on site-specific delivery to solid tumors

Increased infusion pressure overcomes drug delivery barriers

Surefire’s unique infusion system (SIS) utilizes an expandable tip that increases infusion pressure within the tumor. The increased pressure overcomes barriers to drug delivery, delivering significantly more therapy into the tumor than older, less efficient end-hole catheters. Simultaneously, the expanding microcatheter tip protects healthy tissue by blocking backflow during infusion.

“ORI Healthcare Fund focuses on disruptive technology platforms that will lead to new standards of care, “ says Simone Song, Senior Partner, ORI Healthcare Fund. “We are fortunate to be able to invest in Surefire’s technology, which will change the standards of care in liver embolization and immunoncology approaches requiring direct-to-tumor delivery. We will leverage our resources in China to help penetrate the Chinese market, which has the highest and fast-growing liver cancer incidence.”

Growing body of significant clinical data

In a randomized trial, the Surefire catheter was shown to improve tumor uptake by 68 percent while simultaneously decreasing non-target delivery by 58 percent. Additionally, a multi-center registry found use of the Surefire Precision Infusion System in the treatment of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC) was associated with a 68 percent complete tumor response and 92 percent objective tumor response. These response rates are considerably higher than the average response rates seen in the literature for this patient population.

New clinical data to be presented at the 2017 Society of Interventional Radiology’s Annual Scientific Meeting this month reinforces previous findings. In a retrospective case-controlled comparison, the use of Surefire infusion technology achieved a 79 percent objective response rate in the treatment of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC) in transarterial chemoembolization procedures (TACE) versus 37 percent with a standard microcatheter.

“We plan to have the Surefire Infusion System become the standard of care in liver embolization,” says Surefire Medical President and CEO James Chomas. “We are very pleased to welcome the ORI Fund. This series D financing supports our core liver cancer business by expanding to large untapped markets as well as expanding our business model through partnerships with biotechnology companies developing immunotherapies for solid tumors.”

About ORI Healthcare Fund
ORI Fund, a US $200 million venture capital fund, focuses on investing in innovative companies with disruptive technologies in the healthcare industry globally. The fund was founded by Ms. Simone (Hong Fang) Song, former investment banker and head of China Healthcare at Goldman Sachs. The team consists mostly of former Goldman Sachs bankers and healthcare scientists.

About Surefire Medical
Surefire Medical, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets targeted delivery devices for the Interventional Oncology markets. Surefire’s core technology consists of a microcatheter with a unique expandable tip that improves tumor uptake while protecting healthy tissue. It enables physicians to target tumors with superior accuracy, control and protection. Learn more: www.surefiremedical.com