Brooklyn Park medical device maker raises $126M through IPO

CVRx Inc., the Brooklyn Park-based medical device maker, went public on Wednesday, raising $126 million.

The shares were priced at $18 for the initial public offering. When they started trading late morning on the Nasdaq market, they were sharply higher and closed at $28 — one of the stronger debuts among a dozen or so other companies that also completed IPOs on Wednesday.

CVRx became public in a busy year for IPOs, both nationally and in Minnesota.

Wednesday was a busy day for IPOs with more than a dozen other companies and funds set to start trading. Nasdaq noted that the market has had 395 IPOs in the first half of 2021, raising a total of $103 billion.

CVRx becomes the sixth Minnesota-based company to complete an IPO this year, the highest number of Minnesota IPOs in a single year since 1999. Sun Country Airlines Holdings Inc., SkyWater Technology Inc., Agiliti Inc., Miromatrix Medical Inc. and Bright Health Group Inc. are the others.

The commercial stage company makes minimally invasive neuromodulation devices to treat cardiovascular diseases. The company's Barostim devices stimulate the autonomous nervous system and the wall of the carotid artery to moderate cardiovascular function.

The initial price was up from the $15- to $17-per-share range disclosed in the company's latest amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also sold 750,000 more shares than expected in the upsized offering. Underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase an additional 1,050,000 shares, which would increase the overall amount raised.

Johnson & Johnson's strategic venture capital arm has backed CVRx. The health care giant's Innovation-JJDC Inc. fund is the largest shareholder in CVRx, with approximately 21% of the shares outstanding.

JJDC has invested more than $500 million in 40 different companies in 2020, and its portfolio includes more than 130 companies mainly in the pharmaceutical, consumer product and medical device fields.

CVRx has been led by Chief Executive Nadim Yared since 2006. Educated in France, Yared previously worked at Medtronic and GE Medical.

The company intends to use proceeds of the offering to build out its direct sales force and other corporate functions to further the commercialization of its Barostim devices. They also plan to invest about $12 million into further research and development.

The company in 2020 had $6 million in revenue, down 3.2% from the previous year, and lost $14.1 million. As of March 31, the company had approximately 63 employees.

Underwriters for the offering included J.P. Morgan Securities, Piper Sandler & Co. and William Blair & Co. Legal experts included Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.