Feeling stuffy? Two sinus-focused companies, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Sinexus and Maple Grove, Minn.-based Entellus, want to help out, with fresh rounds of funding for product development.
Venture funding for ear, nose & throat (ENT) companies hasn't been terribly common in the past, but seems to be on the rise, with companies like these two and Acclarent, which took $35 million last year, promising safer, easier treatments for common sinus conditions. Acclarent just filed for an $86.25 million IPO, in fact, which may attract more attention to the ENT scene. Sinexus is on its second funding, and is working on an unannounced consumer product to treat chronic sinusitis, according to VentureWire, which first spotted both investments. The $20 million round was led by PTV Sciences, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and U.S. Venture Partners. We reported its first round of $3.5 million last September. Entellus is working on a surgical device for use in endoscopic surgery for treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis. Where the Sinexus device is still in early testing stages, the FinESS Sinus Treatment by Entellus just received FDA clearance. Its $15 million round was led by Montagu Newhall Associates, with Split Rock Partners and SV Life Sciences joining.