US-based medical device developer NuVera Medical has completed the first closing of a $15m funding round that includes Lilly Asia Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
The tranche was led by hedge fund sponsor Cormorant Asset Management and included investment firm Capital Partnership and unnamed existing backers.
NuVera is developing ultrasound technology intended to help surgeons perform procedures in the chambers of the heart by providing high-resolution and real-time visualisation of cardiac structures.
A graduate from medical technology incubator Shifamed in Silicon Valley, the company closed an $11m series A round in June 2017.
Capital Partnership led the series A round, which included GE Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of industrial and power technology producer General Electric, as well as Lilly Asia Ventures and Cormorant.
Todor Jeliaskov, NuVera’s CEO, said: “The results of our preclinical work to date have been very positive. With these results, we believe that the value proposition of the NuVera technology in electrophysiology and structural heart applications is further demonstrated, and we look forward to advancing the product to the next stage of development.”