SI-BONE, Inc. Appoints Laura Francis Chief Financial Officer And Closes Additional Round Of Growth Capital
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — SI-BONE, Inc., a medical device company that pioneered the use of the iFuse Implant System, a minimally invasive surgical (MIS) device indicated for fusion for certain disorders of the sacroiliac (SI) joint, announced today that Laura Francis has joined the company as chief financial officer effective immediately. Ms. Francis joins the executive management team bringing a wealth of experience from both public and private companies in executive leadership positions.
Prior to joining SI-BONE, Ms. Francis was chief financial officer for Auxogyn, Inc., a venture-backed life science start-up in the Silicon Valley. Prior to Auxogyn, she was vice president of finance, chief financial officer and treasurer for Promega Corporation, a privately held life sciences company. While at Promega, she led multiple acquisitions of businesses in Asia Pacific countries. Before joining Promega, Ms. Francis was the chief financial officer of Bruker BioSciences Corporation, a publicly traded life science company where she led their post IPO merger and secondary offering. Earlier in her career, Ms. Francis was an engagement manager with consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and an audit manager with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Francis holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University, a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, and a C.P.A. from the State of California.
“I could not be more excited to welcome Laura to the SI-BONE team. She has extensive corporate finance experience in both large and small, public and private, companies. This, coupled with her experience with acquisition transactions in global markets and managing a successful public offering, will help us achieve our growth goals in the coming years,” said Jeffrey Dunn, President and CEO of SI-BONE.
“This is a unique opportunity for me to join an innovative company with a dynamic team that is focused on improving patients’ lives everyday, but more importantly has multiple areas of opportunity for significant growth and expansion,” said Ms. Francis. “I am excited to work with Jeff and the team to continue to build the company’s business.”
In addition, the company also announced the closing of a $21 million round of growth capital financing. New investor Redline Capital Management led the round that included participation from all existing major investors. Proceeds from the financing will be used primarily to fund further expansion in the U.S. and Europe in anticipation of increased demand in the growing minimally invasive surgical (MIS) SI joint fusion market in these regions. Procedure growth in the U.S. alone, as predicted by iData Research’s 2014 SI joint fusion market report, is expected to grow six-fold over the next three years from the more than 8,000 surgeries performed in 2014. Additional proceeds will be used to support entry into markets outside the U.S. and Europe, including countries in the Middle East, Asia and South America.
Clinical publications have identified the SI joint as a pain generator in 15% to 30% of low back pain patients. 1-4 In addition, the prevalence of SI joint pain in post-lumbar fusion, so called “failed back surgery” patients, has been shown to be up to 43%. 5 Of these patients, some may have degenerative sacroiliitis or SI joint disruptions. Initial treatment options for patients with SI joint disorders typically involve non-surgical management and, when non-surgical management of the SI joint fails, surgical options such as the iFuse procedure may be considered.
SI-BONE, Inc. received original 510(k) clearance in November 2008 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its iFuse Implant System. The CE mark for European commercialization was obtained in November 2010.
