MB Ventures Partners joins second round financing

Memphis Business Journal
October 9, 2007

Venture fund firm MB Venture Partners LLC has participated in a $16 million second round of financing for Spinal Restoration Inc.

MB Venture Partners participated in the Series B round of equity financing with Sante Health Ventures and founding investors Austin Ventures and Path4 Ventures.

Spinal Restoration will use the additional funds to complete an IDE clinical trial of the Biostat Disc Augmentation System, according to a release. The system is a minimally invasive treatment for low back pain caused by disc degeneration.

"Spinal Restoration has captured a unique solution to an enormous unmet need within the spine health market which offers a very attractive investment opportunity," said Gary Stevenson, managing partner of MB Venture Partners, in a statement.

Spinal Restoration estimates that more than 1 million patients annually have chronic discogenic low back pain. There is no widely accepted treatment for discogenic pain outside of spinal fusion, the company said.

MB Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in Memphis that provides venture capital and strategic direction to life sciences companies. The firm invests in medical device and biotech companies at various stages of development with a focus on product solutions for musculoskeletal disease.

A year ago the firm closed on a $54 million fund, its second. MB Venture Partners has invested in a dozen companies since starting in 2001.