RapidPulse, a medical device company developing technology to improve outcomes for stroke patients, launched this week after raising $15 million in a Series A financing round.
Miami-based RapidPulse will use the proceeds to advance its stoke treatment device through clinical evaluations and building out its platform of proprietary catheters, CEO Sean McBrayer said.
“Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide, and minutes matter in improving these outcomes," he said. "This investment will help us expand our clinical results and move toward regulatory approval in the United States."
RapidPulse is a spinoff of Miami-Dade County-based medical device incubator Syntheon, which McBrayer also leads as CEO. Syntheon reports it has issued more than 200 patents for a range of devices, including laparoscopic surgery and cardiovascular devices.
The startup's Series A financing round was led by Austin, Texas-based Santé Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm. Syntheon, Scotland-based Epidarex Capital, North Carolina-based Hatteras Venture Partners and Boston-based venture capital firm Broadview Capital contributed to the round.
"RapidPulse is a disruptive platform opportunity in neurovascular [health], and has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes for ischemic stroke patients," Santé Ventures partner Dennis McWilliams said.
Heather Harries, the former general manager for Terumo Aortic, a medical device manufacturer in Sunrise, and Cynthia Yang, a former senior manager at Medtronic, joined RapidPulse to lead its product development and clinical development operations.
South Florida is home to dozens of medical device ventures, with some investors describing the region as one of the medical technology centers of the world. This year New York-based Ceros Financial Services launched a subsidiary company, Ceros Capital Markets, in Miami to invest in promising medical device startups in the region.
Surgical device startups in particular brought in significant venture capital dollars in 2020. Last year, Miami-based robotic arm company Neocis and Dania Beach's sensor-assisted surgery company Orthosensor were among the region's top funded startups, according to eMerge Americas.
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