SpectraWAVE Raises $50M to Advance Intravascular Imaging

SpectraWAVE has announced a $50 million Series B funding round led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. joined by S3 Ventures, Lumira Ventures, SV Health Investors, Deerfield Management, NovaVenture, Heartwork Capital, and other undisclosed parties.
 
The company said the funding will advance commercial expansion and product additions to its 510(k)-cleared HyperVue imaging system. HyperVue, according to SpectraWAVE, is the first intravascular imaging technology to combine DeepOCT and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), optimizing image quality and efficiency in the cath lab.
 
This includes no-flush catheter prep, fast and long pullbacks designed to reduce and remove the use of contrast, and a comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflow and image analysis offering.
 
SpectraWAVE CEO Eman Namati, Ph.D. said intravascular imaging guidance is backed by a wealth of randomized clinical trials (RCT) and was recently collated in a meta-analysis of 22 RCT studies and approximately 16,000 patients published this year in The Lancet, showing significantly improved outcomes for patients undergoing coronary stenting.
 
“This evidence and broad recognition of impact has recently moved intravascular imaging to a 1A guideline recommendation in Europe, with an expectation that the United States will follow in due time,” Dr. Namati said in a press release. “Increasing both the capabilities and the ease of use of intravascular imaging systems is now critical to expand the use of imaging and improve care for these patients. That is our mission with HyperVue—simpler, faster, and better imaging to drive optimized stenting procedures for improved patient outcomes. The reception to the product during our initial U.S. launch has been fantastic, and this financing, supported by leading MedTech investors, will support our commercial expansion to bring HyperVue to more patients.”
 
The HyperVue Imaging System is intended for imaging of coronary arteries and is indicated in patients who are candidates for transluminal interventional procedures. The NIRS capability of the system is intended to identify patients and plaques at increased risk of major adverse cardiac events.
 
“In addition to our commercial intravascular imaging system, we are developing a wire-free physiology software add-on to allow physicians rapid assessment of pressure drops in the coronaries using the same HyperVue hardware,” Dr. Namati went on. “This is an important step in our journey to enhance the clinical decision-making for these patients and establish an anchor point for future innovation in the cath lab.”