Flow Neuroscience, creator of a medically approved transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device and behavioural therapy app for depression, has closed its Series A investment round led by Khosla Ventures, CSS group through Swiss Health Ventures and Zühlke Ventures.
The funding will advance its existing depression treatment to be more patient-specific and will accelerate the development of non-pharmaceutical self-managed solutions for other mental health disorders, such as anxiety and accelerate US expansion through clinical trials and FDA approval.
The planned expansion follows Flow’s success in treating patients across the UK and EU for the past two years, with its headset that delivers gentle stimulation using the tDCS technique to combat depression. The investment round will enable the company to strengthen its offering to the European market, servicing patients in their native language, as well as preparing for US market entry.
The Swedish born medtech company founded by clinical psychologist Daniel Månsson, and neuroscientist Erik Rehn has grown from humble beginnings to fill the treatment gap between medication and therapy, with its first solution – the Flow headset.
Global investors have come together to support Flow’s endeavour to branch out internationally – a strong endorsement for the cutting-edge treatment method. Led by Khosla Ventures, CSS Group through Swiss Health Ventures and Zühlke Ventures, the round was also joined by Kirin Holdings through Kiring health innovation fund led by Global Brain, a top venture capital based in Japan, SOSV’s HAX, as well as the leading San Francisco based patent firm Schox. The cross-continental participants will fuel Flow Neuroscience’s core mission to create innovative treatments for mental health disorders that have no side effects, are easily accessible and empower patients and clinicians.
Michael Rieger, head innovation operations & portfolio at CSS GroupCSS Group said: “Flow offers completely new ways of treating clinical depression by applying a technology that has not been available to the general public until now. CSS is investing in Flow to grant patients access to this therapy approach and thus to close a gap in the healthcare system.”
Dr Patrick Griss, executive partner at Zühlke, added: “We look for truly disruptive technologies that drive positive change in the world and with Flow we’ve found that. A treatment that addresses the negative side effects seen with antidepressants and that allows autonomy in how patients can treat their health conditions, is something we are passionate to develop further.”
Further to this, the investment from Khosla Ventures, leading US venture capital firm, and Global Brain together with Kirin holdings, will enable Flow to expand its treatment to the US and APAC, funding clinical trials that will pave the way for market access to patients and clinicians.
Alexander Morgan, MD PhD, partner at Khosla said: “We are happy to see continued progress with Flow’s medication-free treatment for depression and to reaffirm our commitment to the next stages of global expansion together. Bringing this portable, self-managed treatment to US patients will create a scalable, accessible solution to support the millions of people living with depression. The Flow approach can be adjunctive to other forms of therapy and can be an option for those who have not responded to other forms of treatment. We believe everyone in the world should have access to personalized, data-driven therapies. Flow is also empowering to users, as it provides substantial convenience and privacy; people can use it at home at times of their own choosing.”
Looking to the future, Flow aims to increase its reach and accessibility to ultimately cure and manage mental health disorders. By providing a digital and remote device, Flow is helping to change scientific research into the effects of tDCS on depression as researchers can recruit more participants and run trials at a much greater pace, without reliance on in-clinic participation. This allows for scalable expansion globally through clinical trial validation and through the development of a similar solution for anxiety.
Daniel Månsson, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Flow Neuroscience, said: “With accessibility at the forefront, we have a three-fold mission at Flow over the coming years; to advance our current treatment to be more patient-specific and to treat more people suffering from depression; To accelerate our collaboration with healthcare systems to provide alternative options for clinicians to prescribe and a complementary solution to reduce waiting times; And, to work in collaboration with researchers in the field of tDCS to validate further self-managed treatment solutions for a wider range of mental health disorders, such as anxiety.”
