The corporate venturing unit of US-based pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has joined the more than $20m funding round raised by Israel-based surgical company LifeBond.
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation joined the series C round, which was led by venture firms Giza Venture Capital and Aurum Ventures.
In 2009 the company raised $8.5m in a series B round, which was backed by venture firm Pitango and Robert Taub, founder of Omrix Pharmaceuticals, which was sold to Johnson & Johnson in 2008. LifeBond also received $1.5m in series A financing backed by venture firm GlenRock Israel and merchant bank Zitelman Group and prior seed funding from venture firm Trendlines Group.
LifeBond was conceived in 2006 during the Israel-Lebanon war, according to its website, and then founded in 2007. Its founders had realised during the war the need for more advanced surgical products to stop bleeding and close wounds, the website said.
The company plans to use the latest funding round to launch its flagship product, LifeSealGI, which is used to help prevent gastrointestinal bleeding.
It uses research from the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute conducted by professor Gregory Payne.