Sleep Solutions Secures $20.5 Million Of Equity Financing

Sleep Solutions (SSI) has secured $20.5 million in additional venture funding.

The investment was led by the TPG Biotechnology II fund with participation from existing investors, including MedVenture Associates, Dr. Thomas Fogarty/Emergent Ventures, and Lava Ventures.

D. Keith Grossman, Managing Director of TPG Biotech, stated, “We are excited about the prospects for SSI. OSA is one of the most serious and under-diagnosed medical problems in our country, and the current approach of overnight sleep center studies is both costly and limited in its capacity to serve large numbers of patients. The company’s proprietary OSA detection technology and unique home service delivery model, combined with existing strong support from private insurers and now Medicare, uniquely position SSI for an aggressive nationwide launch over the coming months and years.”

With only 15-20% of the estimated 40 million OSA patients in the US identified or diagnosed, the OSA diagnostic testing market is projected to exceed $3 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 20-30% annually for the next five years. In December, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a draft National Coverage Decision approving reimbursement for in-home diagnostic testing services for OSA patients. The final policy is to be posted in mid-March.

“The new investment and continued support of existing financial partners is a compelling endorsement of SSI and its demonstrated ability to deliver innovative solutions to sleep apnea patients,” stated Michael J. Thomas, President and CEO of SSI. “The TPG investment represents an inflection point for Sleep Solutions, enabling SSI to remain at the vanguard for developing new approaches to delivering superior patient outcomes while expanding the breadth of our high-quality healthcare solutions outside the traditional settings of hospitals or sleep labs.”

The additional investment will be used to build a national sales and marketing capability, expand facilities, and continue driving the company’s development of innovative applications for its proprietary NovaSom® QSG® diagnostic medical device and MediTrack® Patient Management System.