keepMED Raises Funding for Regulatory Clearance of its Sleep Apnea Device

Merieux Equity Partners and keepMed have completed a 13 million euros Series C financing round, attracting a new syndicate of European investors.
 
New investors Celeste Management, Financière Arbevel and 4See Ventures join existing investors Merieux Equity Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, Xenia Venture Capital, C4 Ventures and Lavorel Medicare in this financing round.

“We are honored to welcome new investors and are thankful to our existing investors, especially Merieux Equity Partners, for their continued support of our efforts to bring this breakthrough solution to OSA sufferers. Our mission is to enable individuals with OSA to breathe without interruption during the night – as naturally as possible and with minimal intervention. A good night’s sleep is key for good health and quality of life,” said Alex Rapoport, CEO of keepMed.
 
keepMed has designed and developed keePAP, a responsive and personalized positive airway pressure (PAP) device for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep, associated with a significantly increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. OSA typically involves loud snoring and fragmented non-refreshing sleep, which have a profound impact on quality of life, road safety, and work performance. A recent study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine¹ indicates that nearly 1 billion adults worldwide have mild to severe OSA.
 
Like traditional PAP-based devices, keePAP uses positive airway pressure to keep the upper airway open. However, instead of pushing tens of liters of pressurized air per minute into the upper airway continuously, keePAP mobilizes the user’s respiratory system to deliver just the amount of PAP needed, intermittently and with minimal airflow.
 
After receiving CE certification and following completion of a first-in-human study at the end of 2019, keepMed is now in a position to use the proceeds from Series C financing in order to advance keePAP‘s clinical development towards U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance and market launch in the United States and Europe.
 
“We are delighted to have contributed to the strengthening of keepMed’s financial position, with new investors sharing the same excitement for what is, in our view, a revolutionary yet very adequate treatment solution for patients suffering from sleep and respiratory disorders. We look forward to the completion of the next clinical study of keePAP,” added Valérie Calenda, partner at Merieux Equity Partners.

Reference 
¹ VOLUME 7, ISSUE 8, P687-698, AUGUST 01, 2019