MedRhythms exceeds $4M goal in Series A financing round
MedRhythms, a Portland-based company that combines sensors, neuroscience and music to help people recover from neurologic injury or disease, announced Friday it raised $5 million in an oversubscribed Series A Financing round.
The company stated in a news release that it intended to raise $4 million but due to substantial interest it raised the offering to $5.3 million. By the time of Friday’s announcement, it had raised $5 million.
Leading the round is Peter J. Werth of Werth Family Investment Associates. A significant follow-on investment was made by Jean Hoffman, founder and former CEO of Putney Inc., whose earlier investment was announced in February 2017.
Hoffman, who joined the company’s board of directors at that time, will remain on the board.
With the new financing, MedRhythms expanded its board of directors from three to five members. Peter Werth will join the board as lead investor, bringing deep expertise in entrepreneurship, healthcare and strategy. Also joining the board is Ray Pawlicki, former chief information officer for Biogen and Novartis and current board member for Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, UMass Memorial, and RockStep Solutions. Bill McKee, former CFO of Barr Pharmaceuticals and Putney Inc, will join the board as an observer.
MedRhythms plans to hire
This investment will allow MedRhythms to develop and launch a patent-pending digital therapeutics platform that focuses on building evidence-based, FDA-approved, prescription products for people with neurologic injuries and diseases to improve and measure walking. While the first product on the platform focuses on the post-stroke population, the pipeline includes products for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, aging-In-place and traumatic brain injury.
The company said the investment capital will enable it to hire software, product, and commercial professionals for the Portland office.
“Developing digital therapeutics based on music requires the right mix of talent on the team, including experts in music, biotech, healthcare and technology,” said Brian Harris, CEO and co-Founder. “We are thrilled to have Peter Werth lead this financing round, as his track record of success building and investing in health care businesses is the right balance of expertise that will allow us to achieve MedRhythms’ mission and vision of making a high-quality clinical impact in the lives of millions of people.”
The MedRhythms’ platform is based on the neuroscience and clinical research indicating that music improves functional outcomes in neurologic rehabilitation by globally engaging the brain. Specifically, rhythm can engage the auditory system, generating motor responses and aiding in structural changes in the brain through neuroplasticity.
“We found MedRhythms’ strategy and business plan to build digital therapeutics for walking a compelling investment opportunity,” said Peter Werth, chairman and president of Chemwerth and leader of the Series A investment round. “MedRhythms has excellent growth prospects with a pipeline of therapeutic and diagnostic products in large, growing markets and is building the right team to execute.”
Harris said the company has big visions for the future.
“While we know that we need to stay focused and execute, we know that the people we serve do not only suffer from walking deficits,” Harris said. “Neurologic injuries and diseases affect movement, language and cognition. It is our vision that we will ultimately serve as a solution to this entire range of impairments.”
Harris said the company plans to develop different algorithms “as personalized therapeutics to address the many deficits caused by neurologic injuries and diseases.”
That data, he added, can be used “to facilitate early detection of new diseases, measure the progression of existing conditions, and predict adverse events, all of which will allow us to fulfill our mission of impacting the lives of everyone affected by neurologic injury and disease.”
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