MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boomerang Medical, a women-led bioelectronic medicine company, today announced the closing of a $15 million Series A financing led by existing investor Arboretum Ventures and new investor Hatteras Venture Partners. This round brings Boomerang’s total funding to $18 million to date. Boomerang will use the proceeds from the financing to advance clinical studies on neuromodulation for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, with an initial focus on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
In conjunction with the Series A financing, Jeff Terrell, General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners, has joined the Boomerang Board of Directors.
“We are thankful for the support of our new and existing investors as we look to expand device-oriented treatment options for people with autoimmune diseases,” said Heather Simonsen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boomerang Medical. “We are especially proud to announce this financing as a woman-led company, after watching the proportion of venture funding dollars drop from 2.8 percent in 2019 to 1.9 percent thus far in 2022 for companies with a female at the helm, a decline we are helping to reverse."
“Heather and her team, with strong support from Fogarty Innovation, have reached critical milestones in a very short amount of time, culminating in their recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration to commence the Boomerang Clinical Trial for patients with IBD,” said Jeff Terrell, General Partner, Hatteras Venture Partners. “Hatteras is delighted to support Boomerang’s efforts to develop novel therapies in this area of significant unmet clinical need."
It is estimated that more than 50 million people in the U.S. have an autoimmune disease, accounting for an annual burden to the overall healthcare system of more than $100 billion. One of the most prevalent and costly is Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including its most common forms: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The onset of IBD usually occurs in young adulthood, is a lifelong condition, and affects nearly all aspects of living—including patients’ private, occupational and social lives. Research over the past 20 years has shown that stimulating certain nerve pathways may help regulate an overactive immune response in people with IBD and other autoimmune diseases.
Tom Shehab, MD, Managing Partner at Arboretum Ventures added, “The seasoned team at Boomerang is well-suited to advance its device-oriented approach with strong potential to address historically hard-to-treat autoimmune conditions. This investment reflects our belief in the Boomerang platform and the company’s ability to execute towards their vision. We look forward to supporting the team in its clinical efforts and working to combat the increasing incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.”
About Boomerang Medical
Boomerang Medical is a women-led clinical-stage company headquartered on the campus of El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Calif. and is a Company-In-Residence at Fogarty Innovation. Boomerang is developing a technology to advance the treatment of autoimmune diseases by harnessing the body’s own peripheral wiring in order to manage inflammation and immune response. For more information, please visit www.boomerangmedical.com.
About Arboretum Ventures
Arboretum Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in the healthcare sector. The firm invests in medical devices, life science tools & diagnostics, and tech‐enabled care delivery. Arboretum’s guiding vision is to identify transformative healthcare companies that are developing improved and less costly solutions to large, chronic health problems in a capital‐efficient manner. Founded in 2002 and located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Arboretum currently manages $700 million in capital across five investment funds. For more information, please visit www.arboretumvc.com.
About Hatteras Venture Partners
Founded in 2000 and based in Durham, NC, Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm with a focus on seed and early stage healthcare investing. Through seven funds and over $750 million under management, the firm has invested in breakthrough science and entrepreneurial grit in the areas of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare IT, and related opportunities in human medicine. To learn more, please visit www.hatterasvp.com.
About Fogarty Innovation
Headquartered on the El Camino Health campus in Mountain View, California, Fogarty Innovation is a leading medical technology nonprofit dedicated to advancing human health worldwide. Driven by a dedicated team of seasoned experts in the field, the organization fosters stronger alliances among innovators, industry and government, creating a powerful engine for the invention, development and deployment of new health technologies into the care pathway. Fogarty Innovation was founded by Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, a world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon, inventor, entrepreneur and vintner. Learn more at www.fogartyinnovation.org.
