Koch Disruptive Technologies, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, is the lead investor in a $150 million Series E funding round for INSIGHTEC, a commercial-stage medical device company revolutionizing surgery with MRI-guided focused ultrasound.
The investment, announced Thursday, will allow the company to further commercialize its approved indications, as well as continue research in areas such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors, using the company's breakthrough technology to deliver treatment in a non-invasive way.
It is also the first investment for Koch Disruptive Technologies since the business group, led by KDT President Chase Koch, commenced operations in November.
"This investment aligns well with the founding principles of both Koch Disruptive Technologies and Koch Industries," said Koch. "With a track record of driving innovation and improving patient outcomes, INSIGHTEC has itself invested and expanded its capabilities to advance surgical medicine to improve the health and quality of life of millions of patients."
"Hospitals around the world are increasingly pursuing incisionless treatment options for their patients using our focused ultrasound therapy," said Maurice R. Ferré, MD, INSIGHTEC's CEO and Chairman of the Board, who has led multiple transformative medical technology companies throughout his career. "This investment round elevates INSIGHTEC into a new strategic position within the health care industry."
INSIGHTEC's Exablate Neuro is the first focused ultrasound device approved by the FDA to treat essential tremor that has not responded to medication and recently received the Best Medical Technology award by Prix Galien.
The company surpassed the 1,000th patient milestone earlier this year, as essential tremor patients are routinely being treated with focused ultrasound at 40 medical centers around the world.
With more than 20,000 procedures for a range of clinical applications already performed with its technology, this investment will allow INSIGHTEC to drive further uses of MR-guided ultrasound to treat Parkinson's disease, prostate cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Clinical research with the company's technology has already successfully disrupted the blood-brain barrier, which holds the potential for targeted drug delivery to treat Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors.
"Transformative ideas know no borders and can come from anyone, anywhere," said Steve Feilmeier, Executive President and CFO, Koch Industries, Inc. "We are well-positioned to harness these breakthroughs happening all over the globe and to also support the next generation of promising entrepreneurs."
Jefferies LLC, the global investment banking firm, advised INSIGHTEC for the investment round. Existing investors in INSIGHTEC include Elbit Imaging, York Capital, Focus Holdings, GE Healthcare, GEOC, and Meditech Advisors. INSIGHTEC is headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and Miami, with offices in Dallas, Tokyo and Shanghai.