deals, VC, Medical Technology

PhotoThera Raises $50M for Laser-Based Stroke Treatment

Bruce V. Bigelow 5/1/09

PhotoThera, a Carlsbad, CA, startup developing transcranial laser therapy for treating acute ischemic stroke, said it has closed a $50 million Series D round of financing led by Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm. The funding is intended to support a planned Phase 3 clinical study of the treatment, which is designed to be given within 24 hours of a stroke.

In addition to Warburg Pincus, participating investors in the round include The Vertical Group, a medical technology venture firm in Summit, N.J., Hamilton BioVentures of San Diego, Delphi Ventures of Menlo Park, CA, DeNovo Ventures of Palo Alto, CA, and individual investors.

In its announcement, PhotoThera also said Arthur T. Taylor, the former chief operating officer of Kyphon, a medical technology company in Sunnyvale, CA, has been named to succeed Thomas C. Wilder as CEO at PhotoThera. Wilder, who became CEO three years ago, has served the company for three years. Taylor headed Kryphon’s products business after Medtronic acquired the company in late 2007.

Bruce V. Bigelow is the editor of Xconomy San Diego. You can e-mail him at bbigelow@xconomy.com or call 858-202-0492