Melodi Health Raises $10.75M for Breast Cancer Recovery Device

Sarah Worrell has seen loved ones go through the tribulations of breast cancer. A close friend of hers ended up getting an infection after a mastectomy, leading to multiple additional surgeries.

Worrell said the treatment process for breast cancer takes anywhere from three to six months. It took her friend years to recover fully. As CEO of Minneapolis-based medical device startup Melodi Health, Worrell believes she’s found a better way.

“It’s already big enough that you’ve got cancer, and to have post operative complications that just further delay the healing process and getting back to your new normal is just devastating,” Worrell said in an interview with TCB. “If there’s anything I can do about that, I’m going to do it.”

Late last month, Melodi Health announced it has raised $10.75 million for clinical trials for a device to help reduce the chances of infection in breast cancer patients’ post-mastectomy. The device, Melodi Matrix, releases antibiotics into the tissue to be absorbed by the body. It’s based on technology from Medtronic, which manufactures the device for Melodi.

The funds will go toward the cost of the clinical trials, Worrell said. This includes research, needed staffing, medical devices, and data monitoring system used in the trials.

Worrell said Melodi’s goal was $10 million. Help from investors and other private donors helped the startup surpass that goal, she added.

Investors for this round of funding included HM Venture Partners, Engage Venture Partners, and Three Bridges Private Capital. Some of the funding also came from Minnesota-based investors Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund.

“The investors saw what our mission, our vision was, and we’re very aligned with it,” Worrell said. “It means everything for them to support us.”

Melodi Health has been working with some of the country’s top cancer hospitals like Mayo Clinic, and Worrell said some of the trials will be held there.

The trials started in August and will be conducted at 10 different sites across the U.S. Enrolling patients and following up with them is expected to take about two years, Worrell said.

Worrell said the goal after that would be to get the medical device used in this process to get FDA approved so it can be distributed commercially. The dream is to go global with the device.

The median age of women diagnosed with breast cancer is 45. The infection rate is 10-14% for women getting breast reconstruction surgery. Worrell said Melodi works with some hospitals where that number is closer to 20%.

Worrell said she wants to do anything to help the women who are going through “a scary diagnosis” and be able to keep families together.

“The whole goal is to get women who are diagnosed with breast cancer back to their families,” Worrell said. “These are young women who have young kids, or maybe a teenager is graduating from high school, and their life is just getting started.”