Urology Devices Play to Large and Growing Procedure Volumes

Last year saw a surprising number of investments in devices for urology but the development activity in this space should not be surprising, given that prostate disease-both prostate cancer and BPH-are diseases of aging, setting in after age 40 when hormonal changes may cause the prostate to enlarge. BPH, for example, affects more than 50% of men age 60 and older and 90% of men age 70 and older. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of carcinoma death in men. These demographic trends are reflected in the rapid growth in surgical procedures for the treatment of prostate disease, many of which are projected to grow at high double-digit rates in major global economies, according to a series of reports detailing surgical volumes and trends by country, published by the Medtech Insight division of Elsevier Business Intelligence.

Urology is no longer the investment backwater it once was. In 2009, START-UP noted five private financings in the urological device space raising more than $50 million, split between urinary incontinence and prostate disease. EMKinetics Inc., the developer of a neurostimulation device for urinary incontinence, raised an early round, [See Deal] along with Taris Biomedical LLC, which raised $15 million in its Series A round to develop a minimally invasive drug delivery device for bladder disorders. [See Deal] In female urinary stress incontinence, Mpathy Medical Devices Ltd. raised an undisclosed amount of money in a Series C round. [See Deal]

Prostate disease has had an even better showing recently, since it accounted for one of the rare medical device public offerings of 2009, that of ProUroCare Medical Inc., which netted $2.7 million for the development of a new imaging system for mapping the prostate. [See Deal] Privately, Augmenix Inc. raised $6.1 million to develop a tissue spacer that helps minimize collateral damage during prostate cancer treatments [See Deal], and NeoTract Inc., which raised $23

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