Charter Capital Partners, MERS invest in Pennsylvania medical device maker

Charter Capital Partners, MERS invest in Pennsylvania medical device maker

GRAND RAPIDS — West Michigan investment banking firm Charter Capital Partners led a $18.3 million financing round in Malvern, Pa.-based Trice Medical Inc.

The Series C capital round will go to expand Trice Medical’s commercialization and accelerate the development of its product portfolio.

The company developed diagnostic orthopedic devices, known as mi-eye 2 and mi-ultra. The products are equipped with a camera at the end of a needle that enable a doctor in real time to diagnose a knee or shoulder injury in the office, thereby saving on costs compared to relying on an MRI.

“It’s a novel approach to orthopedic diagnostics,” said John Kerschen, managing partner at Charter Capital Partners, which has been follow Trice’s progress for almost five years. “It really is an enhancement for the orthopedic physician to diagnose injuries.”

The Trice Medical platform has the potential for use in other areas, such as neurology and veterinary medicine, Kerschen said.

Trice Medical has been growing rapidly, although Kerschen declined to disclose 2018 revenue. The company used a portion of the capital raised this round to acquire Carlsbad, Calif.-based S.E.G.Way Orthopaedics, a producer of an endoscopic device for minimally invasive procedures to treat carpal tunnel syndrome.

Joining Charter Capital in the capital round was the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan, the pension fund for Michigan public employees.

The Charter Capital investment involved about 20 investors from Michigan and elsewhere that include Belmont-based Henrickson Nauta Venture Fund 1 LP’s first-ever investment, as MiBiz previously reported in August. Charter Capital Partners helped wealth management firm Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. set up the fund for clients interested in diversifying their investments.

Prior investors in Trice Medical include Petoskey-based venture capital fund BioStar Ventures, Safeguard Scientifics Inc. (NYSE: SFE) in Radnor, Pa., HealthQuest Capital in Belmont, Calif., and Smith & Nephew, a medical equipment company in London, U.K.

Partners at BioStar Ventures first introduced Charter Capital Partners to Trice Medical years ago, Kerschen said.