Pain management company Axial has now raised almost $10m in less than a year from backers including insurer BlueCross BlueShield.

US-based pain management company Axial Healthcare closed an $8m series A round yesterday featuring insurance conglomerate BlueCross Blue Shield, which invested through its BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners unit.

Venture capital firm .406 Ventures led the round, which also included Sandbox Industries, the VC firm that co-manages the BlueCross BlueShield Venture Fund. BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox previously co-led a $1.75m round for Axial in September 2014.

Founded in 2013, Axial is developing pain management services based on big data…