Kestra Medical Boosts Expansion Plans With $196 Million in Funding

Kestra Medical Technologies Inc. is $196 million in the black, having closed an oversubscribed funding round that will help the firm expand its commercial operation and further promote its modern wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD).
 
Financial support came from Andera Partners, Ally Bridge Group, Longitude Capital and Omega Funds with participation from new investors, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc., Eventide Asset Management, and Gilmartin Capital. Long-term investors Bain Capital and Endeavour Vision also participated with significant contributions.
 
“This oversubscribed financing is validation of the excitement and confidence that new and existing investors have for Kestra and our ASSURE cardiac recovery system which has been prescribed to well over 10,000 patients to date. With this funding, our team is ready to aggressively compete and accelerate our commercialization initiatives to transform the WCD market with our clinically proven system,” Kestra Medical Technologies President/CEO Brian Webster said.
 
The ASSURE system represents the next generation of cardiac monitoring and defibrillation therapy. Besides providing autonomous detection and defibrillation for ventricular arrhythmias, it can also detect and record other clinically significant arrhythmias that may require clinical intervention. Kestra claims it offers the only option designed specifically to meet the underserved needs of female cardiac patients. The ASSURE system has established U.S. reimbursement and broad insurance coverage.
 
“We are impressed with the clinical performance of the Kestra technology, their patient-focused approach and moreover, the opportunity to penetrate this large and growing patient population,” said Aneta Sottil, a partner at Andera Partners. “We are keen to partner with Kestra and their team as they work to disrupt the existing $1 billion WCD market.”
 
With four channels of ECG, an advanced algorithm and adaptive patient intelligence, the ASSURE WCD reduces noise and ensures clear data and insights. ASSURE is the only WCD system that offers additional support by sending an alert through the ASSURE patient application to an emergency medical services (EMS) operator after a defibrillation shock.
 
The complete Cardiac Recovery System includes the ASSURE WCD, the recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared ASSURE Wearable ECG, the ASSURE patient app, ASSURE Assist Services and the Kestra CareStation remote patient data platform. All components of the system work together to provide comfortable protection for patients, improved compliance, and clear insights for healthcare providers.
 
“We are proud to continue our long-time support of Kestra and its people-driven mission to protect patients with technologies that are intuitive, intelligent, and mobile,” Bain Capital Partner Chris Gordon stated. “We welcome the support of the new investors and look forward to continuing to back Brian and his strong team as they continue to deliver lifesaving products and services that make a difference in patients’ lives.”
 
In conjunction with the financing, Kevin Reilly from Ally Bridge Group, Maxwell Bikoff from Longitude Capital, and Francesco Draetta from Omega Funds will join Kestra’s Board of Directors.
 
BofA Securities acted as sole placement agent for this transaction.
 
Kestra Medical Technologies Inc. is a privately held wearable medical device and digital healthcare company that develops diagnostic monitoring and therapeutic technologies that are intuitive, intelligent, and mobile. Kestra was founded in 2014 by Bain Capital private equity and leaders from the external (AED) and internal (ICD) defibrillation industries.