Kestra Medical Technologies has secured $196m in an oversubscribed funding round to boost the commercialisation of the ASSURE wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD).

The investment will bolster the company's commercial expansion and advance the WCD system.

The financing round was co-led by Ally Bridge Group, Andera Partners, Longitude Capital, and Omega Funds. It also saw participation from new investors such as T Rowe Price Investment Management, Eventide Asset Management, and Gilmartin Capital.

Existing investors Bain Capital and Endeavour Vision also made contributions in the round.

Kestra Medical Technologies president and CEO Brian Webster said: “This oversubscribed financing is a validation of the excitement and confidence that new and existing investors have for Kestra and our ASSURE cardiac recovery system which has been prescribed to well over 10,000 patients to date.

“With this funding, our team is ready to aggressively compete and accelerate our commercialisation initiatives to transform the WCD market with our clinically proven system.”

ASSURE is designed to offer autonomous detection and defibrillation for ventricular arrhythmias and records other significant arrhythmias that may require clinical intervention.

Equipped with four channels of ECG, an advanced algorithm, and adaptive patient intelligence, the ASSURE WCD can provide clear data and insights.

It is said to be the only WCD system that alerts an emergency medical services (EMS) operator via the ASSURE patient application after a defibrillation shock.

Kestra Medical’s comprehensive Cardiac Recovery System includes the ASSURE Wearable ECG, the ASSURE WCD, the patient-friendly ASSURE app, ASSURE Assist Services, and the Kestra CareStation for remote patient data management.