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Root canal medical device firm raises $20 million

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Sonendo Inc., a Laguna Hills firm that is developing a new technology to make root canals easier and less painful, has received $20 million in equity financing, $9.2 million of which is for an initial closing, the company announced Thursday.

Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos, The Orange county Register

This is Sonendo’s latest round of funding. Last August, the company said in a regulatory filing that it had raised $5.9 million of a $6.4 million round of equity fundraising.

Sonendo’s latest investment was led by OrbiMed Advisors LLC, with NeoMed Management joining previous investors which include Fjord Ventures Management.

The dental technology firm, formerly known as Dentatek Corp., said the new money would be used to finalize technology development, fund clinical studies and commercialize its first root canal treatment system.

Vince Burgess, Venture Partner at OrbiMed Advisors, said his firm invests in companies like Sonendo that appear to have disruptive technologies in large markets.

“In the United States alone there are more than 15 million root canal procedures performed every year, nearly all of which utilize simple metal files and too often yield imperfect results,” Burgess said. “We believe Sonendo’s proprietary technology, once fully developed, has the potential to change the standard of care for root canal procedures.”

Bjarne Bergheim, Sonendo’s chief executive, noted in a phone interview that the basic approach to root canals was developed about 200 years ago and, while there have been improvements, it still involves using a file.

He said the problem with the current procedure is that it takes a long time and requires a good technique.  It also tends to leave tissue and bacteria in the root canal which contributes to a 20% failure rate. And it can be painful for the patient.

Sonendo’s technology replaces the file with a hand-piece placed on top of the tooth that uses fluid and sound to do the root canal. Bergheim said their goal is to make the process faster, easier, better at cleaning the root canal and better for the patient.

“We want to take something that is painful and make it less painful or even comfortable,” he said.

Bergheim said the next step will be to accelerate the clinical trials and begin the process of regulatory approval.  He hopes to have the new device on the market in about two years.

As it enters its next stage, the company is also hiring.  Bergheim said he is looking for engineers and staff for manufacturing, marketing and operations.

“We hope to hire a number of people by the end of the year,” he said.

Job inquiries should be sent to jobs_wb@sonendo.com.

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