ARDEN HILLS, MINN. (Sept. 23, 2021) – Medical device startup [Cryosa](https://www.cryosa.com/) completed its Series B funding round, raising $21.5 million to continue development of its therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The round was led by life sciences firm Solas BioVentures, with additional funding from Series A investors which include life sciences firm Santé Ventures, global technology and med-tech company HOYA Corporation, and additional investors. The funding will be used to continue first-in-human clinical trials.

"We are focused on developing a treatment for the root cause of sleep apnea, providing ear, nose and throat physicians a novel therapy that does not require an implant or daily compliance from the patient," said Dr. Donald Gonzales, Cryosa founder and chief medical officer.

"With the momentum of this funding round, we're in a strong position to expand into our next phase of safety and efficacy clinical trials," said Mark Christopherson, Cryosa president and CEO.

An estimated 24 million people in the U.S. and 425 million people around the globe have moderate to severe OSA¹. Cryosa was founded to focus on novel treatments for this disorder and is led by an experienced team of entrepreneurs, engineers and professionals from medical device startups and large med-tech companies.

"There is a lack of available OSA treatments that are both minimally invasive and effective. The device that Cryosa is developing has the potential to help millions of people with this disorder," said Dr. David Adair, co-founder and managing director of Solas BioVentures.

**About Cryosa**

Cryosa is a medical device company focused on developing breakthrough, minimally invasive therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that do not require daily patient compliance. Driven by an experienced medical device team of successful startup entrepreneurs and large med-tech engineers and professionals, the company is based in Minnesota's Medical Alley. For more information, visit [www.cryosa.com](http://www.cryosa.com/).

**About Solas BioVentures**

Solas BioVentures is a venture capital firm that invests exclusively in the life science industry, focusing primarily on early and development stage biotech and medtech companies advancing impactful, disruptive technologies. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, its coverage is global. For more information, visit [www.solasbio.com](http://www.solasbio.com/).

**About Santé Ventures**

Founded in 2006, Santé Ventures is a specialized healthcare and life sciences investment firm with over a half-billion dollars in capital under management. The firm invests in early-stage companies developing innovative new medical technologies, biotechnologies, and digitally enabled healthcare services. Recent Santé successes include Claret Medical (Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (Becton Dickinson), Millipede Medical (Boston Scientific), Molecular Templates (MTEM), AbVitro (Celgene), and Explorys (IBM Corp). Santé invests nationally and has offices in Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. For more information, please visit [www.sante.com](http://www.sante.com/).

**About HOYA**

HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech glass and medical products. HOYA is committed to becoming a leading company in niche markets through creativity and innovation. As part of this philosophy, we continue to research and develop quality products utilized in the healthcare and information technology fields. Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA has over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide and currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit [http://www.hoya.com](http://www.hoya.com/).

¹ Benjafield et. al, 2019, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7007763/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7007763/)

Cryosa Closes $21.5 Million Series B Funding Round to Advance Minimally Invasive Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment

MEDICAL ALLEY, Minn.–([BUSINESS](https://www.businesswire.com/)[ WIRE](https://www.businesswire.com/))–Minnesota medical device startup Cryosa completed its Series A-2 funding, raising $8.25 million to further develop its breakthrough therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The round was led by life sciences firm, Santé Ventures, and HOYA Corporation ("HOYA"), with additional institutional and individual investors. This latest funding round will be used to engage in first-in-human clinical trials. The company has completed extensive pre-clinical testing, evaluating safety and efficacy.

"Current surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea are invasive and do not focus on curing the root cause of the disorder," said Cryosa founder Dr. Donald Gonzales. "Cryosa was founded to develop minimally invasive, permanent therapies for OSA."

OSA impacts approximately 22 million Americans, disrupting sleep and potentially leading to other serious medical conditions if undiagnosed and untreated.

"There is a large, unmet medical need for a minimally invasive obstructive sleep apnea therapy," said Dr. James Eadie, Partner at Santé Ventures and Cryosa board member. "Cryosa's approach is elegant and backed by a strong team of medical device entrepreneurs and engineers."

"The market for OSA therapies is substantial and continues to grow," said Rubal Bedi, Global Head and Vice President of Corporate Venture Capital at HOYA. "Cryosa is well-positioned to help the needs of patients living with this sleep disorder."

Cryosa was founded in 2018 by Gonzales, who also serves as the company's chief medical officer (CMO). Prior to Cryosa, Gonzales was CMO for Entellus Medical, which was acquired by Stryker in 2018, and founded several other companies in the ear, nose and throat space including Spirox Medical and ENTrigue Surgical.

Cryosa's president and CEO is Mark Christopherson, who brings more than 25 years of experience in the medical device industry to the company. He was a co-founding executive of Inspire Medical and led NxThera's research and development during commercialization and pivotal trials, prior to the company's acquisition by Boston Scientific in 2018.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway soft tissue collapses. Individuals with this sleep disorder may stop breathing for more than 10 seconds, experience lower oxygen saturation and be roused from sleep up to hundreds of times per night.

"Recent research shows a connection between adipose/fat tissue of the upper airway and the severity of OSA," Christopherson said. "By focusing on methods and treatments to selectively reduce adipose tissue, we believe we can help reduce instances of OSA and help people sleep better."

**About Cryosa**

Cryosa is a medical device company focused on developing breakthrough, minimally invasive and permanent therapies for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Driven by an experienced medical device team of successful startup entrepreneurs and large med-tech engineers, the company is based in Medical Alley, Minnesota. For more information, visit [www.cryosa.com](https://cryosa.com/).

**About Santé Ventures**

Founded in 2006, Santé Ventures is a specialized healthcare and life sciences investment firm with nearly $1BN in capital under management. The firm invests in early-stage companies developing innovative new medical technologies, biotechnologies, and digitally enabled healthcare services. Recent Santé successes include Farapulse (Boston Scientific), Claret Medical (Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (Becton Dickinson), Millipede Medical (Boston Scientific), Molecular Templates (MTEM), AbVitro (Celgene), and Explorys (IBM Corp). Santé invests nationally and has offices in Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. For more information, please visit [www.sante.com](http://www.sante.com/).

**About HOYA**

Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech and medical products. HOYA's divisions and business units research and develop products utilized in the healthcare and information technology fields.

In the healthcare field, we provide medical device products such as eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, contact and intraocular lenses, orthopedic implants, surgical/therapeutic devices and medical device reprocessing and disinfection solutions. In the information technology field, we provide products such as optical lenses, photomasks and blanks used in the manufacturing process for semiconductor and LCD/OLED devices, text to speech, human resources and other software solutions and critical components for the mass memory and cloud storage industries. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit [http://www.hoya.com](https://www.hoya.com/).

Cryosa Completes $8.25 Million in Series A-2 Funding for Further Development of Breakthrough, Minimally Invasive Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

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Investigational use only, not approved for use in the US or Europe.

Benjafield AV, Ayas NT, Eastwood PR, et al. Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of
obstructive sleep apnoea: a literature-based analysis. Lancet Respir Med. 2019;7(8):687-698.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-2600(19)30198-5

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