Neurava raises over $2M to advance life-saving epilepsy monitoring device

INDIANAPOLIS, April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurava announced that it has completed and oversubscribed its Series Seed round, raising $2.26 million.

Neurava is developing novel and innovative wearable devices for the estimated 3.5 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide with epilepsy to mitigate the risk of SUDEP, or Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. According to the CDC, each year, there are ~1.16 cases of SUDEP for every 1000 people with epilepsy¹, leading to 101,000 years of potential life lost annually in the U.S., second only to stroke among neurological conditions². Major risk factors include 1) uncontrolled or frequent seizures and 2) generalized convulsive seizures. SUDEP typically occurs during or immediately after a seizure and may result from breathing difficulty and abnormal heart rhythm¹.

Neurava's device monitors and alerts for seizures, cardiorespiratory dysfunctions, and the impending risk of SUDEP, unlike any other commercially available system, enabling lifesaving intervention and potentially saving lives. Neurava Co-Founder and CTO, Vivek Ganesh, stated, "This funding will allow us to complete a pivotal usability study at leading clinical institutions in adults and pediatric patients with epilepsy. We will also set up manufacturing partners and submit for FDA clearance, in advance of our Series A round of funding."

The round was led by Life Science Angels and included a second strategic investment from UCB, in addition to strong support from Purdue Innovates, Elevate Ventures, Rivermount Ventures, and First Leaf Capital. Neurava Co-Founder and CEO, Jay Shah, stated, "We are honored to be backed by our investors. We look forward to working with them to continue growing Neurava. Our vision is to improve the lives of those impacted by epilepsy, and with this investment, we are one step closer to making this a reality."

Neurava has achieved several milestones since being founded in 2019:

• It is currently enrolling participants in a pivotal full system usability study in adults and children.
• It completed a study on 30 adults with promising usability and performance results.
• It was selected as a finalist and top 5 startup at the 2023 MedTech Innovator (MTI) Global Competition, out of a cohort of 61 leading startups. With a 5% acceptance rate, MTI alumni have brought 281 products to market, acquiring $7B in total funding, with 50 FDA approvals in the past 12 months and a total of 41 acquisitions.
• It won the 2022 Innovation of the Year award at TechPoint's 23rd annual Mira Awards.

About Neurava

Neurava is a MedTech startup developing first-of-its-kind smart wearables capable of identifying and alerting for seizures, cardiorespiratory dysfunctions, and impending SUDEP risk. This diagnostic platform, pioneered by the company's founders, can have a lifesaving impact on the millions of people worldwide who suffer from epilepsy. For more information, visit https://neurava.com/.

References

¹ "Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/about/sudep/index.htm.
² D. J. Thurman, et. al, "Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: Assessing the public health burden," Epilepsia, Jun. 2014. doi:10.1111/epi.12666

SOURCE Neurava Inc.