US-based pain management company Axial Healthcare closed an $8m series A round yesterday featuring insurance conglomerate BlueCross Blue Shield, which invested through its BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners unit.
Venture capital firm .406 Ventures led the round, which also included Sandbox Industries, the VC firm that co-manages the BlueCross BlueShield Venture Fund. BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox previously co-led a $1.75m round for Axial in September 2014.
Founded in 2013, Axial is developing pain management services based on big data analysis, enabling medical professionals to make more informed decisions when treating patients with chronic pain.
The company received $50,000 in seed funding when it entered the Healthbox Nashville accelerator in 2013. The funding was provided by BlueCross BlueShield, healthcare service provider Hospital Corporation of America, Nashville Care Council and Nashville Entrepreneur Center.