Cryosa is a medical device company focused on developing breakthrough, minimally invasive and permanent therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
Cryosa completes $8.25m in Series A-2 funding. (Credit: Cytonn Photography on Unsplash.)
Minnesota medical device startup Cryosa completed its Series A-2 funding, raising $8.25 million to further develop its breakthrough therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
The round was led by life sciences firm, Santé Ventures, and HOYA Corporation (“HOYA”), with additional institutional and individual investors. This latest funding round will be used to engage in first-in-human clinical trials. The company has completed extensive pre-clinical testing, evaluating safety and efficacy.
“Current surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea are invasive and do not focus on curing the root cause of the disorder,” said Cryosa founder Dr. Donald Gonzales. “Cryosa was founded to develop minimally invasive, permanent therapies for OSA.”
OSA impacts approximately 22 million Americans, disrupting sleep and potentially leading to other serious medical conditions if undiagnosed and untreated.
“There is a large, unmet medical need for a minimally invasive obstructive sleep apnea therapy,” said Dr. James Eadie, Partner at Santé Ventures and Cryosa board member. “Cryosa’s approach is elegant and backed by a strong team of medical device entrepreneurs and engineers.”
“The market for OSA therapies is substantial and continues to grow,” said Rubal Bedi, Global Head and Vice President of Corporate Venture Capital at HOYA. “Cryosa is well-positioned to help the needs of patients living with this sleep disorder.”
Cryosa was founded in 2018 by Gonzales, who also serves as the company’s chief medical officer (CMO). Prior to Cryosa, Gonzales was CMO for Entellus Medical, which was acquired by Stryker in 2018, and founded several other companies in the ear, nose and throat space including Spirox Medical and ENTrigue Surgical.
Cryosa’s president and CEO is Mark Christopherson, who brings more than 25 years of experience in the medical device industry to the company. He was a co-founding executive of Inspire Medical and led NxThera’s research and development during commercialization and pivotal trials, prior to the company’s acquisition by Boston Scientific in 2018.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway soft tissue collapses. Individuals with this sleep disorder may stop breathing for more than 10 seconds, experience lower oxygen saturation and be roused from sleep up to hundreds of times per night.
“Recent research shows a connection between adipose/fat tissue of the upper airway and the severity of OSA,” Christopherson said. “By focusing on methods and treatments to selectively reduce adipose tissue, we believe we can help reduce instances of OSA and help people sleep better.”
Source: Company Press Release