A Twin Cities knee braces manufacturer is seeking $3 million, according to a recent regulatory filing.
OrthoCor Medical, which makes orthopedics medical devices like the company’s Active Knee System, has already raised $1 million of the $3 million it is looking to raise in two weeks, said president and CEO John Dinusson in a phone interview.
“The money will be used to continue to commercialize our products both in the United States and in Asia to continue our sales strategy in the chiropractic market as well as the physical therapy market and to enter the orthopedics market,” Dinusson said. “Most of our investors are Minnesotans, but we have significant interest from angel groups throughout the country.”
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He hopes to close the angel round of financing by the end of the year. The startup has raised $2.5 million in three separate angel investing rounds to date, Dinusson said. He declined to talk about annual revenue. Currently,10 people work at OrthoCor Medical.
The Active Knee System uses a combination of heat and radio frequency waves to combat swelling and pain in the knee joint.
Dinusson said that nine additional products are in the FDA system waiting to be cleared, including five over-the-counter products — such as OrthoCor heat wrap for the knee, elbow, lower back — that can be sold in retail stores once they are approved.
The company has cleared regulatory hurdles in some Asian countries — Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore — and is working to achieve the same in Korea, China and Japan. Next will be Europe, Dinusson said.
“We are fairly mature for an angel-backed company,” he said.
OrthoCor wants to target five types of patient groups — those who suffer from general pain, pain from arthritis or osteoarthritis, post 48-hour acute injury patients, baby boomers and post-operative patients who undergo knee replacement surgery. Nearly 27 million people alone suffer from osteoarthritis and the numbers are set to explode as the first wave of baby boomers begin to retire this year, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
Check out this local news report about the product’s performance.
