Swift Health Systems Inc., a maker of “invisible braces” for teeth, said last week that it raised $45 million in Series C funding, bringing the total capital raised to $70 million by the company.
The Irvine-based orthodontic device company was co-founded in 2012 by orthodontists John Pham, M.D., and Hongsheng Tong, M.D.
It was housed in the EvoNexus incubator space in Irvine until a few years ago.
Their flagship product is Inbrace, which has been on the market since 2016 and which the company uses as its brand name. Inbrace corrects teeth through adjustable wires hidden behind them.
The wire and bracket design used on the interior of teeth makes them “truly invisible braces,” the company said.
“Inbrace is the most advanced invisible orthodontic solution in the world,” the company declared on its website.
“We sit at the intersection of the art and science of orthodontics.”
Medical Investment Backers
Investors are starting to agree. The latest funding was led by a group of longtime medical investment firms: Vivo Capital, Novo Holdings, and venBio Partners.
“We believe that the advanced technologies behind Inbrace, truly invisible braces, will revolutionize the future of orthodontic treatment,” Dr. Andrew Goldberg, principal at Vivo Capital and future Swift board member, said in a statement.
“The capital raised will enable Swift to advance the ways it supports patients and orthodontists around the globe.”
Vivo Capital, a healthcare investment firm formed in 1996 and now with over $3 billion under management, invests in late-stage private and public healthcare companies in the U.S., Europe, and China.
“They are blue-chip investors and they take companies to billion dollar IPOs,” Chief Executive Pham told the Business Journal. “We are looking to make a big splash.”
Back Story
The company was co-founded by orthodontists for orthodontists, according to its website.
Pham actually started as an aerospace engineer before becoming an orthodontist. He’s also an investigator at the University of Southern California’s advanced orthodontics/Viterbi Engineering.
“The full story is that Inbrace is actually my third startup,” Pham said. “I dropped out of school in my freshman year in college—and my mom was super upset about it.
“I said Mom, ‘I promise I will be the doctor you always wanted me to be.’ I worked at Boeing and then my mother came back [and] was like, ‘Hey, do you remember what you said?’”
Tong, its chief medical officer, invented Inbrace. He is also a clinical assistant professor at the USC Ostrow School of Dentistry. Tong, who started Chino Hills-based BigSmile Orthodontics, has treated 10,000 patients, according to his LinkedIn page.
The Inbrace technology was developed and began production at the EvoNexus incubator in Orange County.
“Inbrace was selected to the EvoNexus Orange County incubator because of the vision the founders possessed that orthodontics patients were underserved in their needs in current conditions,” EvoNexus Chief Executive Rory Moore told the Business Journal. “The team had a vision for developing a compelling technology and process to accelerate the outcome of orthodontic treatments and ultimately lower the cost.”
Inbrace is the second big hit for EvoNexus in a year; chipmaker Syntiant Corp. got $25 million in funding last October.
Fast Growing
Swift employs over 90 people at its 16,500-square-foot office location; Pham declined to reveal its annual revenue.
Swift said its patented technology is “completely convenient, unlike plastic aligners, there is nothing to remove for every meal,” which can be a deterrent for some consumers.
“Smartwire technology is the most advanced innovation in orthodontics since Invisalign arrived in the 1990s,” the company said, attributing the Inbrace product to advancements in artificial intelligence and 3D imaging technology.
Pham said last year, when the company announced a $20 million Series B, that his company’s product “eliminates the social stigma of braces and treats a broader spectrum of patient issues than plastic aligners.”
Patients are able to brush and floss like normal, while using a product that is priced competitively with aligners from an orthodontist, the company said.
“This is something hundreds of millions of people can use,” Pham said.
Board Seats
The other two investment firms will also get seats on the board: Peter Moldt, Ph.D., partner at Novo Ventures; and Aaron Royston, M.D., partner at venBio.
Denmark-based Novo Holdings A/S, owned by Nordisk Foundation and founded in 1999, is a life science investor by providing seed and venture capital to companies in the developmental stage, while seeking significant ownership for those companies that are already well-established and in need of funding.
Novo, which has offices in Copenhagen and has affiliates in San Francisco and Boston, has 25 active companies in its portfolio.
San Francisco-based venBio Partners, founded in 2009, is an investment firm focused on life sciences companies.
VenBio has 18 companies listed in its portfolio with 40 total investments and 17 exits.
