Signifier Medical Technologies Announces $49MM Purchase of Existing Shares by Waha Capital, Angelus Sano Ventures and Segulah Medical Acceleration

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Signifier Medical Technologies LLC (“Signifier” or the “Company”), a Boston-based medical technology company, announced that Waha Capital PJSC (“Waha Capital”), Angelus Sano Fund L.P. (“Angelus”), Segulah Medical Acceleration AB (“Segulah Medical”) and certain other individual investors have collectively invested approximately $49 million in the purchase of existing shares in the Company from shareholders unrelated to the Board and Management.

Signifier is the developer of the revolutionary eXcite^OSA® medical device for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing, which has now been launched in key markets including the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. Nearly one billion adults aged 30 to 69 years globally are estimated to suffer from OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which is a serious medical condition associated with health problems such as high blood pressure and increased risks of heart attack, stroke or death.^1-10

Waha Capital is an Abu Dhabi listed investment management company and is one of the United Arab Emirates’ leading private sector investors, which also counts Mubadala Investment Company as an anchor shareholder. Waha Capital has a long-established track record of investing in public and private markets, deploying capital across diverse sectors and geographies.

Angelus is a medical technology fund that specializes in identifying start up opportunities that bring a truly disruptive and innovative approach in the areas of technology, services, and infrastructure. Angelus is managed by Angelus Partners, L.L.C. and offered within its family of funds.

Segulah Medical seeks to invest in and develop game changing businesses within medical technologies and related value chain solutions. These companies use cutting edge research in real-world applications such as medical devices, diagnostics and life science tools. Segulah Medical seeks to bridge the gap between innovation and commercial validation to bring advanced research to global markets.

Akhil Tripathi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Signifier, said: “On behalf of the Board and management of Signifier, I am delighted to welcome Waha Capital as a significant new investor in the Company. I am also extremely grateful to Angelus and Segulah Medical for their longstanding support for Signifier in our previous fund raises as well as through this purchase. We are honored by their confidence in our business following the successful commercial launch of eXcite^OSA in our core target markets of the USA, Canada, the UK and Germany and we look forward to working closely with Waha Capital, Angelus and Segulah Medical as we continue to execute on our strategy and move to secure the funding required to finance our future growth.”

Hitesh Gupta, Managing Director, Waha Capital, said: “Signifier has made a tremendous amount of progress since receipt of FDA approval for eXcite^OSA. We are pleased with the successful commercial launch and are impressed by the positive patient outcomes and growth potential of this innovative technology. We are thrilled to be investing alongside domain experts in the medical technology space.”

David Jarvis, Managing Partner of Angelus Partners, L.L.C., said: “Over three years ago we identified eXcite^OSA as a viable, non-invasive treatment for those suffering from OSA. As we monitored both the internal and external growth of the company, we realized we had a special investment opportunity emerging, and for that reason we were more than eager to acquire a greater ownership interest in Signifier Medical Technologies.”

Roger Gunnarsson, Managing Partner of Segulah Medical, said: “We are highly impressed with the significant progress that has been achieved by Signifier in the short period since we invested and which is ahead of the original plan. Despite the fact that we would normally not buy secondary shares, when given the opportunity we were keen to deploy more capital.”

-END-

About Signifier Medical Technologies

Signifier is a pioneer in addressing the root causes of sleep disordered breathing. We are focused on the development and commercialization of innovative and non-invasive solutions for patients with conditions such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea and primary snoring. Founded in 2015, Signifier is at the forefront of sleep therapy, with a mission to develop therapies that improve population health, increase the quality of patients’ experience and generate healthcare savings. Signifier has offices in London (UK), Needham (Massachusetts, USA) and Berlin (Germany).

About eXcite^OSA®

eXcite^OSA is a revolutionary daytime therapy device for sleep disordered breathing. Clinically proven to target a common root cause of OSA, eXcite^OSA improves sleep quality, health and quality of life. Nearly one billion adults aged 30 to 69 years globally are estimated to suffer from OSA, which is a serious medical condition associated with health problems such as high blood pressure and increased risks of heart attack, stroke or death.^1-10

A major underlying cause of OSA is that the upper airway muscles lack endurance during sleep and the tongue falls back, blocking the upper airway. By using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to “exercise” the upper airway muscles, eXcite^OSA works the intrinsic and extrinsic tongue muscles to improve endurance and prevent airway collapse during sleep.

Unlike other devices which are used while patients sleep, eXcite^OSA is the first commercially available device used while awake. The full benefits of the daytime therapy are realized without patient use during sleep.

About Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Nearly one billion adults aged 30 to 69 years are estimated to have OSA globally.¹ OSA and snoring are problems for many people whose tongue muscles relax during sleep, causing airway collapse and decreased oxygen intake, which causes the sleeper to stop and restart breathing during sleep, often jolting them awake.^15-16

OSA is a serious medical condition associated with health problems like high blood pressure and increased risks of heart attack, stroke, or death.^2-9 OSA and snoring also affect patients’ partners and family members, consequently putting strain on relationships.^15-16

For more information, please visit www.signifiermedical.com or www.exciteosa.com

References

1. Benjafield, A. V., Ayas N T, Eastwood P R et al. Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of obstructive sleep apnoea: a literature-based analysis. Lancet Respir Med 2019; 7: 687-698.
2. Peppard PE, Young T, Palta M, et al. Prospective study of the association between sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension. N Engl J Med. 2000; 342:1378–1384. [PubMed: 10805822]
3. Gottlieb DJ, Yenokyan G, Newman AB, et al. Prospective study of obstructive sleep apnea and incident coronary heart disease and heart failure: the sleep heart health study. Circulation. 2010;122:352– 360. [PubMed: 20625114]
4. Yaggi HK, Concato J, Kernan WN, et al. Obstructive sleep apnoea as a risk factor for stroke and death. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353:2034–2041. [PubMed: 16282178]
5. Redline S, Yenokyan G, Gottlieb DJ, et al. Obstructive sleep apnea- hypopnea and incident stroke: The Sleep Heart Health Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010; 182:269–277. [PubMed: 20339144]
6. Peker Y, Hedner J, Norum J, et al. Increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men with obstructive sleep apnoea: a 7-year follow-up. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002; 166:159– 165. [PubMed: 12119227]
7. Marin JM, Carrizo SJ, Vicente E, et al. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes in men with obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea with or without treatment with continuous positive airway pressure: an observational study. Lancet. 2005; 365:1046–1053. [PubMed: 15781100]
8. Peppard PE, Szklo-Coxe M, Hla KM, et al. Longitudinal association of sleep-related breathing disorder and depression. Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166:1709–1715. [PubMed: 16983048]
9. Kendzerska T, Gershon AS, Hawker G, et al. Obstructive sleep apnoea and incident diabetes: a historical cohort study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014; 190:218–225. [PubMed: 24897551]
10. Johnson KG and Johnson DC. Frequency of sleep apnea in stroke and TIA patients: a meta-analysis. J of Clinical Sleep Med 2010;6(2):131-7
11. Baptista et al. Daytime Neuromuscular Electrical Therapy of Tongue Muscles in Improving Snoring. 2021
12. Kotecha. et al. A novel intraoral neuromuscular stimulation device for treating sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep Breath. 2021.
13. Data on File. Signifier Medical Technologies
14. Davey, M. J. Epidemiological study of snoring from a random survey of 1075 participant. British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association. 2002; Available at: https://britishsnoring.co.uk/pdf/epidem.pdf
15. Levy P, Kohler M, McNicholas WT, et al. Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2015; 1: 15015.
16. Luyster FS. Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Its Treatments on Partners: A Literature Review. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(3):467-477.

###

Contacts

Frazer Hall at MEDiSTRAVA Consulting

frazer.hall@medistrava.com