ZetrOZ, Inc. today announced that it has received a $5 million venture loan facility from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN) ('Horizon'), a leading specialty finance company that provides capital in the form of secured loans to venture capital backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries.
The funding will provide the medical device designer and manufacturer with capital to expand its wearable ultrasound product marketing and sales beyond the professional market and into the consumer arena. Horizon funded an initial $1.5 million of its $5 million commitment under the venture loan security agreement.
'This financial commitment from Horizon marks a significant step forward in our company growth and vision of providing a drug-free, non-invasive alternative for pain sufferers,' according to ZetrOZ co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bryant Guffey. 'We look to them as important partners as we continue to expand access to our mobile, wearable sam® (sustained acoustic medicine) therapy system in the rehab and chronic pain markets.'
Current clinical outcomes demonstrate that sustained acoustic medicine (sam®) is an effective non-pharmaceutical approach for treating pain symptoms such as knee arthritis and upper back pain. sam® has been adopted by pro and collegiate athletes such as the Bridgeport Bluefish for prehab and rehab programs. ZetrOZ is also engaging in new multi-site clinical research with NSBRI to test the effectiveness of the device for astronauts in Earth and space-flight conditions and the U.S. Army Military Health Command to test sam® technology for more rapid wound closure.
'The medical utility of sustained acoustic medicine is an evolving success story in the field of translational research using low intensity ultrasound energy deposition for soft tissue biomodulation and accelerated recovery. The clinical and scientific research behind sam® is growing quickly, and the current beneficiaries of these innovations are the injured weekend warrior and chronic pain sufferer,' said medical technology inventor and ZetrOZ Chief Scientific and Technology Officer, Dr. George K. Lewis, 'The financial backing from Horizon will help us reach and educate millions of those sufferers in a meaningful way.'
'ZetrOZ is an exciting new portfolio company developing a unique, drug-free pain and rehabilitation therapy,' said Gerald A. Michaud, President of Horizon. 'We are pleased to provide this growth capital to ZetrOZ, a leader in its field.'
About ZetrOZ, Inc.
ZetrOZ is revolutionizing the medical therapeutic industry with its proprietary technology including the recently introduced sam® sustained acoustic medicine www.samrecover.com and UltrOZ® www.ultroz.com, miniature wearable ultrasound devices for accelerated recovery and pain management. The innovative non-invasive therapeutic technologies have been shown to be more efficient, more portable, and more economically viable than any ultrasound systems presently available and are currently the world's smallest and strongest ultrasound therapy systems. The sam® device addresses the growing demand for non-pharmaceutical and bio-regenerative alternatives to typical pharma-based pain treatments in the approximately $62 billion U.S. pain management market. Early adopters of sam® include physical therapists, athletic trainers and athletes for improved recovery of overuse injuries such as tendonopathies and muscle strains. ZetrOZ is also known for developing the first swallowable ultrasound pill with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Defense. For more information, visit www.zetroz.com.
About Horizon Technology Finance
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a leading specialty finance company that provides capital in the form of secured loans to companies backed by venture capital firms within the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. The investment objective of Horizon is to maximize total returns by generating current income from a portfolio of directly originated secured loans as well as capital appreciation from warrants that it receives when making such loans. Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, Horizon has regional offices in Walnut Creek, California and Reston, Virginia. Horizon's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol 'HRZN'. To learn more, please visit www.horizontechnologyfinancecorp.com.