Israel-based medtech startup Discure has secured $16m in Series A financing to advance its implantable device for treating degenerative disc disease (DDD).
Patients suffering from DDD suffer pain when the natural ability of the spinal disc to absorb shock is compromised. Discure is employing a new method that regenerates functions lost to the condition. The implantable device revitalises the spinal disc through electrical stimulation, which is applied directly into the cartilage to reboot the disc’s natural functions.
According to the company, the procedure is minimally invasive and requires no hospitalisation.
The Series A round was led by BOLD Capital Partners, Supernova Invest and Sanara Capital, with participation from multiple US hospital networks.
According to Discure, current methods of treatment for DDD include the use of spinal fusion, where affected vertebrae are joined together surgically and beyond that DDD is typically treated with opioids to mitigate the pain. The company believes its implantable device will sidestep the need for spinal fusion.
Speaking with Medical Device Network, Discure CEO Yuval Mandelbaum, said: “We started interviewing the physician, looking into the literature, really diving deep into the causes of DDD, we interviewed physicians and delved deep into the literature and it was quite obvious to us that there is a really basic part of the biology here that causes this vicious cycle to get started and that is what we have tried to address with a medical device. It's not common for a device to be regenerative.
“Disc disease is one of the largest indications out there, if we get this right, we will say thanks and be pleased with that. But it does provide a lot of room for growth down the road. It just makes a lot of sense scientifically and clinically. We’ve elected to go with the largest pipeline indication and the one that we think really would have the most significant impact on a significant population size that is suffering with debilitating back pain without access to good cures today.”
Discure received breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021.
