Century City-based AppliedVR, Inc. announced March 23 that it has raised $29 million in Series A funding that will be used to continue development of software for an immersive headset to help patients with chronic pain.
AppliedVR has raised a total of $35 million since launching in 2015. Its latest investors include F-Prime Capital, JAZZ Venture Partners, Sway Ventures, GSR Ventures, Magnetic Ventures and Cedars-Sinai.
The company is creating content that it will load onto a headset to display immersive environments like campfires, mountains and other animated nature scenes. Called EaseVRx, the platform is designed help patients dealing with chronic pain, including fibromyalgia and chronic intractable lower back pain.
According to AppliedVR, its other headset application, which is for general pain management and anxiety, has been used in more than 250 hospitals as a relaxation and distraction product, as well as an investigational medical device.
AppliedVR Chief Executive and co-founder Matthew Stoudt said that the pandemic has generated more need for pain treatments that can be administered away from medical settings.
“Chronic pain is one of the most common medical conditions in the world, yet it still is incredibly debilitating to patients, costly to the system and complex to treat,” Stoudt said in a statement. “While our mission has always been to demonstrate that VR can be a powerful analgesic in any setting, the Covid-19 pandemic has created a surge in demand for digital medicines like VR that can be delivered safely to patients in their own homes.”
The company said it's aiming to secure full Food and Drug Administration approval for the EaseVRx headset within the next year. A headset would be prescribed by a doctor and sent home with the patient.
In October, the FDA granted EaseVRx headsets a Breakthrough Device Designation, giving AppliedVR priority review for regulatory submissions.
AppliedVR's team is almost entirely remote, but most of its 34 employees live in the Los Angeles area, a company spokesperson said.
