By Allan Maurer

GLEN BURNIE, MD – Sleep Solutions Inc., a company selling a home dianostic service that tests for disordered breathing during sleep, has raised $20 million in new equity, according to a regulatory filing. The company’s test helps identify people with life-threatening obstructive sleep apnea, which it says represents an undersevered market worth $3 billion in 2008 and growing by 20 percent or more annually.

The company raised $20.5 million in a 2008 round round led by TPG Biotech and joined by return investors, MedVenture Associates, Dr. Thomas Fogarty/Emergent Ventures and Lava Ventures. Prior to that it raised more than $26 million.

The company lists Adele Oliva of Quaker BioVentures as a new director.

The company’s PR firm responded to a TechJournal South request for an interview regarding the funding, but was unable to put us in touch with a company official yesterday afternoon. The company revealed the new financing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing says the company has more than $5 million in revenue.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a chronic breathing disorder characterized by interruptions of breathing during sleep.

The condition occurs when air cannot flow into or out of the person’s nose or mouth due to collapse and blockage of the airways, usually accompanied by loud snoring. Over 40 million Americans, and 5 percent of the worldwide population, suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, yet, 80 to 90 percent of these cases remain undiagnosed and untreated.

At the time of the company’s previous funding, D. Keith Grossman, managing director of TPG Biotech, said in a statement, “Obstructive Sleep Apnea is one of the most serious and under-diagnosed medical problems in our country, and the current approach of overnight sleep center studies is both costly and limited in its capacity to serve large numbers of patients.

“The company’s proprietary OSA detection technology and unique home service delivery model, combined

with existing strong support from private insurers and now Medicare, uniquely position SSI for an

aggressive nationwide launch over the coming months and years.”

Online: www.sleepsolutions.com

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