CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--biospace med (www.biospacemed.com) announced today that it has raised $18 million to accelerate market expansion in North America and Europe of the company’s FDA-cleared EOS ultra-low-dose 2D/3D imaging system.
The round included existing investors Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (Paris), Crédit Agricole Private Equity (Paris), UFG Private Equity (Paris), NBGI Ventures (London), COFA Invest (Paris); and new investor CDC Entreprises, acting on behalf of the SIF (Strategic Investment Fund).
“We are particularly pleased to welcome CDC Entreprises as a new shareholder in the company, and to acknowledge the renewed confidence of our current shareholders. This new fundraising will allow us to accelerate the market penetration of EOS in North America and Europe, so that this revolutionary musculoskeletal imaging modality can become a routine clinical tool,” said Dr. Marie Meynadier, CEO of biospace med. “This cash infusion comes on the heels of EOS being installed in two preeminent U.S. pediatric specialty hospitals, in San Diego (Rady Children’s Hospital) and Milwaukee (Wisconsin Children’s Hospital), while the number of EOS imager installations continues to increase in Europe.”
EOS is a novel medical imaging technique that allows full-body 2D and 3D imaging of patients using radiation doses up to 89% lower than those required for a standard CR (computed radiography) X-ray1. EOS is a revolutionary solution to reduce irradiation linked to radiological investigations, which has risen by 600% over the past twenty years. The benefits of EOS are particularly important in pediatrics, because children undergo X-rays throughout their development, when their organs are highly susceptible to ionizing radiation. EOS is also significantly beneficial in adults who do not wish to be exposed to ionizing radiation during standard X-rays or CT scans.
EOS targets particularly the diagnosis, follow-up, preoperative assessment and postoperative follow-up of degenerative diseases and bone and joint deformities. Indeed, EOS allows full-body and three-dimensional (3D) images of the human skeleton thanks to software that reconstructs and models a patient’s bones from just two simultaneous images. This software also generates 3D measurements (lengths, angles) automatically, and can calculate a broad range of clinical parameters, some of which were hitherto inaccessible, but which are essential to diagnosis and surgical planning. The images and clinical parameters are obtained in standing or seated weight-bearing positions and thus reflect the bone and joint status of the patient’s posture.
“We are impressed by the quality of what biospace med has to offer and are delighted to facilitate its international development, because we are convinced that its innovative technology and management team will exert a strong impact on the medical imaging market. biospace med thus joins the 570 or so companies already accredited by SIF,” said Marie-Laure Garrigues, Investment Director at CDC Entreprises.
About biospace med
biospace med has developed EOS ultra-low-dose 2D|3D, a new medical imaging modality that allows full-body 2D and 3D imaging of patients. EOS is a novel technique and a global solution for orthopedic imaging that is now available in Europe and the USA. Based in Paris, the Company currently has approximately 40 employees, and has a subsidiary in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, as well as an office in Montreal (Canada). It is targeting a $2 billion orthopedic imaging marketplace. In Paris, the Company headquarters is located at 10, rue Mercoeur - 75011 Paris (France) (+33 (0)1 55 25 60 60). Learn more at: www.biospacemed.com.
About CDC Entreprises and the SIF
CDC Entreprises, an AMF-accredited fund management company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts, invests directly and indirectly in companies, from technological seed capital to small-scale mergers and acquisitions, at both the national and regional levels. It manages investments for the SIF (Strategic Investment Fund), for the Caisse des Dépôts (now its second largest investor) and for other public and private sector institutions in the SME sector. Its objective is to promote the emergence of firms with long-term, stable growth by strengthening their equity capital and supporting their development. CDC Entreprises now holds a portfolio of over 2500 companies via the 180 French funds that are affiliated with it. A limited company 51% owned by the Caisse des Dépôts and 49% owned by the French government, the SIF is a proven investor that supplies equity as a minority holding in French companies that have industrial projects that will create value and ensure competitiveness for the economy. www.cdcentreprises.fr – www.france-investissement.fr – www.fonds-fsi.fr
About Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners
Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP) is dedicated to minority investments into privately-owned companies. It has currently 800 million Euros under management which are being invested primarily as life sciences venture capital and growth capital. Its life science team of seven professionals has over 90 years of cumulated experience in the life science industry and has a proven track record in biotechnology and medical technology investments. The team has approximately 270 million Euro under management, of which 155 million Euro was raised in the BioDiscovery 3 fund, which is to be invested during the next years. EdRIP is part of the group Edmond de Rothschild. For more information, please visit www.edrip.fr
About NBGI Ventures
NBGI Ventures, established in 2001, manages funds with over €100 million in total commitments and focuses on leading investments in innovative medical technology companies. NBGI Ventures is based in London and considers investments across Europe and the U.S. Companies it has supported to date include Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics (USA), BoneSupport (Sweden), Estech (USA), Forth Photonics (UK), Quanta Fluid Solutions (UK), Reverse Medical (USA), SuperSonic Imagine (France), 2010 Perfect Vision (Germany), and Upfront Chromatography (Denmark). NBGI Ventures is a division of NBGI Private Equity Limited, which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For more information, please visit www.nbgiventures.com.
About Crédit Agricole Private Equity
Crédit Agricole Private Equity, the AMF-accredited fund management company of Crédit Agricole S.A., is dedicated to taking direct stakes in unlisted companies. Crédit Agricole Private Equity is a multi-specialized player and it benefits from a fund of €3 billion which is managed by 95 professionals specialized in specific market segments: LBO and Development, Venture Capital, Mezzanine financing, Joint Investments, Renewable Energies or Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure. The Venture Capital team of 12 professionals manages €430 million as mutual funds for innovation invested in new, high-potential technology and life sciences companies. Crédit Agricole Private Equity has signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). www.ca-privateequity.com
About UFG Private Equity
UFG Private Equity is the capital investment arm of the UFG-LFP Group. It aims to take minority or majority stakes of between €1 million and €6 million in medium-sized privately-held companies, based on a multi-sectoral approach. With overall funds of €310 million, divided between ten or so funds (venture mutual funds, mutual funds for innovation and local investment funds), UFG Private Equity intervenes in the context of development capital or LBO operations, and has taken stakes in some 40 companies in this way. The investment philosophy of UFG Private Equity is to actively participate in company development by becoming involved in strategic thinking as part of a Board of Directors or Supervisory Board, providing advice on financial engineering or external growth and facilitating contacts with potential partners. www.ufg-pe.com
1S. Parent et al., “Diagnostic imaging of spinal deformities: Reducing patients radiation dose with a new slot-scanning x-ray imager” – Spine: April 15, 2010 – Volume 35 – Issue 8
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