Francis Medical’s technology involves injecting water vapor into the prostate. Francis Medical

Francis Medical has just received a fresh infusion of cash on its journey to treat prostate cancer.

This week, the Maple Grove-based company announced that it has closed on an $80 million Series C funding round, bringing its total raised to date to $160 million. Francis Medical is developing technology that uses water vapor to treat prostate cancer. One day, that could expand to the treatment of cancers in the bladder and kidney, said Mike Kujak, the company’s president and CEO.

For now, the startup is in the midst of a clinical study examining the effectiveness of its technology in treating prostate cancer in 235 men. In a Friday interview, Kujak said the company expects to release initial data from that study sometime in February, with plans to file for 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July. If all goes to plan, the company could get FDA approval as soon as October and make the technology commercially available across the country.

The company’s current clinical study calls for monitoring the patients over a five-year period.

The Series C raise will help provide continued funding for that trial. The money will also enable Francis Medical to expand its current staff of 40 employees to 71, largely for roles in research and development, sales, and marketing.

Tennessee-based Solar BioVentures and Michigan-based Arboretum Ventures co-led the Series C round. Orlando Health Ventures, which has also invested in fellow Minnesota medtech startup Vergent Bioscience, also participated, alongside two new strategic investors.

Kujak said that Francis Medical’s technology is less invasive and causes fewer complications than the two main lines of treatment for prostate cancer today: radiation or surgery to remove the prostate. “We leave the prostate intact,” he said.

Kujak noted that there is a movement toward more targeted forms of treatment through a process called ablation, which aims to destroy only cancerous cells. That’s what Francis Medical promises through its water vapor technology, but it can also be achieved through things like ultrasound, cryotherapy, and lasers. Those forms of treatment can lead to scarring, and other side effects like incontinence and erectile dysfunction, which is why they haven’t been widely adopted.

Kujak, who’s been working in the health care industry for over two decades, said that Francis Medical’s technology avoids those pitfalls. He noted that his company’s treatment can be done in an outpatient setting.

Francis Medical is the offshoot of a company called NxThera, which developed similar water vapor technology to treat a different prostate condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia. NxThera spun Francis Medical off as its own company in April 2018. A month later, Boston Scientific acquired NxThera. Kujak previously worked at NxThera.

Kujak hopes Francis Medical’s treatment will one day become the “standard of care for treatment of prostate cancer.”