Cadence Neuroscience Secures $15M in Series A

Cadence Neuroscience announced today that it has secured $15 million in Series A financing. The round was led by JAZZ Venture Partners, with additional support being provided by Mayo Clinical Ventures, Mayo Benefactors Innovation Fund, and the Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA). John F. Harris and Andrew Firlik, M.D., of JAZZ Venture Partners have joined the company's board of directors.

Cadence is commercializing a novel neuromodulation therapy for treating pediatric and adult patients with focal drug resistant epilepsy that was developed by a Mayo Clinic, Rochester campus Neurology and Neurosurgery team led by Gregory Worrell M.D., Ph.D., Mathew Stead M.D. Ph.D., Brian Lundstrom M.D. Ph.D., Ben Brinkmann Ph.D., and Jamie VanGompel, M.D. The therapy utilizes chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation to modulate EEG biomarkers associated with epilepsy to reduce or eliminate seizures. The company will use the Series A funds to develop the technology, conduct clinical studies, and pursue FDA approval.

"The Cadence team has extensive domain expertise in developing active neural implants and conducting first-in-human clinical studies." said Kent Leyde, Cadence's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "We also have a proven history of very successful collaborations with the Mayo team that will allow us to combine our technical experience with their clinical research expertise." "Initial clinical results from Mayo Clinic are extremely encouraging, demonstrating remarkable and durable seizure reduction with many patients receiving seizure freedom," said Doug Sheffield, V.M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. "We are especially excited about the opportunity to provide an effective therapy for drug resistant pediatric epilepsy patients."

"Our New Therapy Commercialization Grants program funds research and the development of innovative therapies that lead to cures for people with epilepsy," said Sonya Dumanis, Ph.D., senior director of innovation at the EFA. "The therapy developed by Dr. Worrell and his team is promising and provides hope for those who struggle to gain seizure control. We are excited to see this potential new therapy move onto the next phase of development and clinical studies."

"We are excited to invest in a world-class team with deep expertise in neurotechnology development and conducting clinical trials for therapeutic interventions. Cadence is an enormous opportunity to create a new standard of care that will benefit epilepsy patients around the world," said John Harris, managing partner at JAZZ.

Mayo Clinic and Drs. Worrell, Stead, Lundstrom, Brinkmann and VanGompel have a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.

About Cadence Neuroscience
Cadence Neuroscience is an early-stage company developing new medical device therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Our core technology has been developed at Mayo Clinic and is under clinical evaluation. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Cadence is led by seasoned executives with an extensive background in neural implant product development and first-in-human clinical studies. For more information, please visit www.cadenceneuro.com.

About JAZZ Venture Partners
JAZZ Venture Partners invests in companies that extend the boundaries of human performance – improving how we live, learn, work, play, and experience the world. We seek breakthroughs at the intersection of digital technology and neuroscience that are influencing the human experience, such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, immersive gaming, and closed-loop human-computer systems. Our portfolio companies are unlocking human potential in health, mind-body wellness, accelerated learning and training, sports, entertainment, and the enterprise.