RefleXion Medical Extends Series B Financing to $52 Million With Investment From Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC
HAYWARD, CA--(Marketwired - July 19, 2016) - RefleXion Medical, a medical equipment company developing the first biology-guided radiotherapy system for targeted, personalized cancer treatment, announced today that it has extended its Series B round of funding to $52 million. The full Series B financing was led by KCK Group and joined by Venrock, Pfizer Venture Investments and Sofinnova Partners, RefleXion’s majority shareholder. Additionally, the company is now disclosing substantial participation by Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC Inc. (JJDC) in the financing round. In conjunction with this announcement, JJDC will obtain Board Observer status at RefleXion and will also nominate a representative from Johnson & Johnson Innovation to join the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“RefleXion’s novel combination of PET imaging and external beam radiation therapy represents a significant innovation in localized cancer treatment,” said Dr. Samuel Mazin, Co-Founder and President of RefleXion, “We look forward to identifying compelling clinical applications for biology-guided radiotherapy alongside the oncology pipeline of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.”
Radiotherapy is a non-invasive cancer treatment procedure used to treat approximately 1 million cancer patients in the U.S every year. RefleXion’s revolutionary biology-guided radiotherapy system (BgRT) utilizes both anatomic (Computed Tomography) and functional (Positron Emission Tomography) imaging data to accurately guide therapeutic radiation to one or more targets. By augmenting treatment based on real-time biological signals, the RefleXion system will potentially deliver higher doses of radiation to cancerous lesions while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Biology-guided radiotherapy also has the potential to enable focal treatment for multiple lesions throughout the body, addressing a large unmet need amongst metastatic cancer patients. Additionally, RefleXion’s approach could lead to new applications in precision medicine, where radiation delivery is adapted using novel PET radiotracers that can uniquely probe relevant tumor characteristics such as tumor hypoxia, cellular proliferation, DNA synthesis and genetic markers.
“The continued support of our investors is a strong endorsement of RefleXion’s team, technology and clinical potential,” said Jay Watkins, Chairman of RefleXion. “In particular, we are very proud to announce Johnson & Johnson Innovation as a partner, and as our second corporate venture investor.”
About Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC
Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC, Inc. is the venture capital subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It has been investing since 1973 in the medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical and consumer health areas. JJDC’s goal is to create opportunities that meet the strategic needs of its operating affiliates while providing visibility to innovative emerging technology, businesses and business models. JJDC invests in companies across the continuum from early stage seed investments to advanced stages of series venture management. http://www.jjdevcorp.com/
About RefleXion Medical
RefleXion Medical is a privately held medical device company developing the first biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) system for cancer treatment. By leveraging Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in a novel way, RefleXion’s patented technology will allow tumors to continuously signal their location during treatment and potentially revolutionize radiotherapy. RefleXion is backed by premier investment firms Sofinnova Partners, KCK Group, Pfizer Venture Investments, Venrock and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JJDC Inc. The company has also received grant funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. For more information, visit www.reflexionmedical.com and follow @reflexionmed on Twitter.
a
