San Jose based Medical device startup SI-Bone raises $21 million for back-pain treatment

Medical device company SI-BONE raised $21 million in growth capital financing on Tuesday to treat lower-back pain. In addition, the company named a new chief financial officer: former Auxogyn executive Laura Francis.
New investor Redline Capital Management led the round, with participation from all existing major investors, including OrbiMed Advisors, Montreux Equity Partners, Skyline Ventures and Novo A/S. The company has raised $61.1 million to date.
Chief Medical Officer Mark Reiley co-founded San Jose-based SI-BONE in 2008 to pioneer the use of the iFuse Implant System, a minimally invasive surgical device indicated for fusion for certain disorders of the sacroiliac joint, located in the pelvis. Now run by CEO Jeffrey Dunn, the company will use the funds to further expansion in the U.S. and Europe in anticipation of increased demand.
"I could not be more excited to welcome Laura to the SI-BONE team,” Reiley said in a press release welcoming Francis to the company. “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."
Prior to joining SI-BONE, Francis served as CFO for Auxogyn, a venture-backed life science startup headquartered in Menlo Park. Prior to Auxogyn, she was vice president of finance, CFO and treasurer for Promega Corp., a privately held life sciences company.
SI joint dysfunction has been linked to up to 30 percent of cases of low back pain. The demand for SI joint fusion operations is expected to grow from 8,000 surgeries in 2014 to 50,000 per year by 2020, according to the company, citing a study by iData Research's 2014 SI joint fusion market report.
Medical device companies have been a hot investment in Silicon Valley in the past couple months. Outset Medical raised $60 million just last week. Autonomic Technologies raised $38 million and AEGEA raised $36 million earlier this month, while Scanadu and EBR Systems raised $35 million and $20 million, respectively, in April.