CraniUS has raised a $19.4 million Series A round from private investors, as it aims to seek FDA approval for a device that can deliver medicines directly to the brain, bypassing the so-called blood-to-brain barrier. It has previously raised $500,000 in seed funding.
The Baltimore-based startup was cofounded by Chad Gordon, who pioneered neuroplastic surgery at Johns Hopkins, and chief technology officer Deborah Weidman, who was part of a student-led medical device startup called Braegen that developed a functional, skull-embedded medicine delivery implant for patients with chronic neuropathology.
With deep roots in Johns Hopkins, CraniUS calls itself an R&D company developing treatments for chronic brain disease. Its prototype device — with a wireless charging system — is the believed to be the first of its kind that can deliver medicine directly to the brain.
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“CraniUS’ device has been built from the ground up over the last 5+ years specifically focused on long-term medicine delivery directly to the brain,” said CEO Michael Maglin, a consumer products veteran with experience of working with implants at sportswear maker Under Armour. “This investment round will enable our team to continue its mission to invent, engineer, and manufacture our device towards FDA approval for a first-in-human clinical study.”
Gordon, who serves as CraniUS’ chief medical officer, has extensive experience in developing implantable technology and related areas. He has leveraged his expertise in neuroscience to neuroplastic and reconstructive surgery, helping many patients scarred by neurosurgery. He and his team have crafted custom implants for specific functional use cases as well as for esthetics. In one instance, Gordon’s team built a “smart” implant to measure pressure inside the brain.
Besides Gordon, Weidman and Maglin, CraniUS’s board members include the following:
- Henry Brem, chairman of John Hopkins’ Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School and New York University
- H. Brett Friedman, dental surgeon
- Brian Moran, founder of SamCart, which develops ecommerce technology
- Joshua Scheinker, a senior executive at Scheinker Legacy Wealth Advisors
- Sharon Wolfington, investor and veteran of the medical devices industry. She previously served as CEO of Acumed, and held senior positions at Stryker.
- Elliot Stone
