MaxQ Medical, a company based in Sunnyvale, California, has raised $31.5 million in a Series A funding round to advance its technology in prostate treatment. This medical technology firm develops an experimental platform for visualization and therapy.
Atlantic Blue Ventures, S3 Ventures, and Olympus Innovation Ventures participated in the round, leading the investment. Existing investor Hillside Capital also took part in the financing. The funds raised are planned to be used to expand the team and promote the clinical program.
The developed system combines ultrasound visualization with targeted tissue therapy. This approach is intended to allow doctors to simultaneously see and treat prostate tissues during a single procedure. Initially, the technology focuses on benign prostatic hyperplasia, known as BPH.
MaxQ creates a transurethral system that functions inside the prostate. The platform combines advanced visualization with tissue-specific therapy within one intervention. This can provide urologists with direct visibility while treating identified tissue.
The company claims that the system's design potentially allows for urethral preservation during treatment. The goal is to reduce complications associated with some existing prostate procedures, such as trauma, edema, and bleeding, as well as potential impact on sexual function.
However, the potential benefits of these methods still require clinical validation through ongoing studies. The MaxQ system is experimental and not available for commercial use in the United States. CEO Amir Tehrani noted that patients currently face difficult treatment choices for prostate diseases.
He emphasized that some methods may yield limited results, while others carry significant side effects. The new funding will support the continuation of MaxQ's clinical evaluations and help the company strengthen its staff as the project develops.
MaxQ's technology is based on decades of research in semiconductor ultrasound. The company is the first spin-off from Orchard Ultrasound Innovation. Orchard was created to commercialize ultrasound technologies developed through Stanford University research. The company's work includes advancements in semiconductor ultrasound systems.
Pierre Khuri-Yakub co-founded Orchard and serves as Chief Scientist. He is also an emeritus professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. Khuri-Yakub is known for inventing Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer technology. MaxQ applies this research base to an integrated medical platform. The company's current program is focused on BPH as the first clinical indication.
MaxQ plans to expand the technology's application to focal prostate cancer therapy. Long-term prospects may include tumor biopsy and mapping, which could broaden the platform's scope beyond therapeutic procedures.
The Series A round provides MaxQ with additional resources to advance its clinical program. The company needs to gather more evidence before its technology can reach the commercial market. Thus, the development strategy remains focused on clinical evaluation and team expansion.
Regulatory progress will also determine the speed at which the platform reaches patients. Olympus Innovation Ventures participated alongside Atlantic Blue Ventures and S3 Ventures. Olympus noted the high demand for technologies combining prostate visualization and treatment.
The investment provides strategic support from a major player in the medical technology sector. S3 Ventures also brought experience in investing in healthcare enterprises. Ultimately, MaxQ aims to create a broader prostate care platform that can support treatment, diagnosis, and targeted cancer therapy. Primarily, the company must demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical trials, and this latest funding provides the capital to continue this development.