ONI Medical Systems, Inc. Secures $12.5 million Funding through Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners
Wilmington, MA – June 28, 2007 – ONI Medical Systems, Inc., developer of the first, truly open, high-field extremity MRI system, announces a $12.5 million capital infusion led by Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners, L.P. The company intends to expand its product development and marketing efforts within the Specialty MRI imaging market.
Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners (ZMEP) is a venture fund specializing in healthcare and technology investments. The transaction also included participation from existing investors Galen Partners, a Stamford, CT-based private equity firm specializing in healthcare, and Ivy Capital Partners of Montvale, NJ.
Peter Pellerito, CEO of ONI, said, “This investment from ZMEP and our current partners, Galen and Ivy, is an extraordinary vote of confidence in ONI’s mission of delivering high-field, yet cost effective MRI products. This additional funding, combined with our team of industry experts and top designers, will allow us to further penetrate the growing needs of both our clinicians and healthcare providers.”
ONI is the maker of the MSK Extreme with v-SPECTM, which combines superior, high-field image quality in a compact, patient-friendly unit. Unlike whole-body MRI units, the MSK Extreme enables patients to have a comfortable testing experience where just the impacted extremity is enclosed by the magnet. Peter Roemer, CTO and co-founder of ONI, added, “The future of MRI is in smaller, anatomically-dedicated machines that provide early stage diagnoses. We are now better positioned to meet consumer and professional demand.”
“This is an exciting investment for ZMEP,” said veteran MRI developer Morry Blumenfeld, PhD. “We were drawn to ONI because of their ability to quickly recognize and fill a market need. With the advent of active baby boomers and others seeking MRI testing, ONI is well positioned to deliver diagnoses that can lead to enhanced outcomes.” ZMEP Managing Director Sam Cubac added, “ONI’s concept is an ideal match for several trends that are common in the US and Global Healthcare markets today. By using a more efficient MSK Extreme unit instead of a whole-body unit, offices are often able to decompress their schedules, allowing for a 20-25% efficiency improvement.”
Zubeen Shroff, managing director at Galen, commented that, “ONI has done a terrific job in timing its new products to parallel recent government-led healthcare cost-containment measures. We are proud to continue our relationship with a company who has come to define high-quality, low-cost MRI testing.”