Spirox Announces Closing of $45MM Series C Financing

Spirox Inc., a privately held medical device company, has closed a $45 million Series C round of financing led by KKR, a leading global investment firm. In leading the round, KKR joins a syndicate of existing investors in the company. Also participating in the financing is new investor HealthQuest Capital along with major existing shareholders Aisling Capital, Aperture Venture Partners and Venrock.

“In addition to being a long-term capital partner, KKR’s experience scaling businesses provides us the opportunity to build for the future and help Spirox achieve the next level of growth,” said CEO Duke Rohlen. “We have a shared vision that will enable Spirox to continue to create cutting-edge innovations in order to provide breathing relief for millions of patients who need it.”

Spirox’s minimally invasive system for ear, nose and throat physicians is intended to treat a significant patient population. Each year, more than 3 million Americans see a physician for symptoms resulting from nasal obstruction and nearly 1 million procedures are performed to alleviate these symptoms. Standard treatment options include surgery to treat a deviated septum, surgery to reduce the size of the turbinates, and/or surgery to prevent nasal valve collapse. Although treating the nasal valve creates the greatest improvement in airflow for patients suffering from nasal obstruction, the morbidity associated with the current surgical options has resulted in limited use. Spirox aims to remove this barrier with its minimally invasive approach.

“Nasal obstruction is one of the most common complaints among patients who see an ENT physician, and the condition takes an immense toll on patient quality-of-life,” said Brent Senior, chief of Rhinology, Allergy, and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery at the University of North Carolina. “Spirox will help ENTs improve results and relieve suffering for their nasal obstruction patients by addressing nasal valve collapse—a primary but often untreated contributor to symptoms.”

As part of the transaction, Jim Momtazee, KKR member and head of the firm’s healthcare investing team, will join Spirox’s board of directors. “There is a significant need in the ENT space for the technology Duke and his talented team have created to help people breathe better without having to undergo surgery,” said Momtazee. “We look forward to supporting Spirox to address this condition.”

For KKR, the investment is part of the firm’s healthcare growth equity strategy, which is focused on high-growth companies. KKR is funding the investment primarily from the balance sheet of KKR & Co. L.P.

Spirox is a Menlo Park, Calif-based developer of minimally invasive technologies that improve the quality of life for patients with nasal obstruction.

KKR is a global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners’ capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital markets business.