Echosens, Leader In Both In Vivo And In Vitro Hepatic Diagnosis, Successfully Carries Out A Fund Raising For 30 Million Euros
Paris – 29th April 2015: ECHOSENS, leader in both in vivo and in vitro hepatic diagnosis and specialized in the design, production and distribution of medical devices, today announces the completion of a fund-raising for 30 million Euros.
The operation was subscribed by three international funds: Cathay Capital, a global private-equity fund specialized in cross-border investment, OrbiMed Advisors, an American fund specialized in the health sector, and a private Chinese fund. The transaction also entails the sale of the stake of its main shareholder, Inner Mongolia FuRui Medical Science, a company listed on the Shenzen stock exchange through its subsidiary FuRui Medical Science Company. The FuRui group will keep a 51% stake in ECHOSENS further to this operation. The full amount of this sale is undisclosed.
Objectives of the fundraising
The ECHOSENS group, which today exports over 95% of its products, aims to maintain an ambitious momentum in the development of its product portfolio allied to sustained international growth. The proceeds of this transaction will:
- strengthen the development of the company in the United States and China, two key zones of strategic importance in which the group’s devices and services are already present;
- accelerate the development of its products in each of its hepatic ranges:
o FibroScan®, an internationally-recognized, non-invasive diagnostic device measuring liver stiffness and steatosis, of which nearly 3000 models are used around the world;
o FibroMeter®, a blood test assessing levels of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, used by the leading medical laboratories on the market;
o FibroView®, a series of dedicated expert solutions for hepatologists allowing them to analyze, archive and exchange patient data
The group will also examine external growth opportunities within its sector of expertise, as long as these include technological innovation and are capable of creating value through leverage.
The success of this transaction reflects the confidence that these investors place in ECHOSENS’ development strategy, its profitable and innovative business model on an international level, and its growth prospect as an expert and global leader in its sector of activity.
Claude Lenoir, CEO of ECHOSENS, stated: “Our products and services are today used and recognized across the world. Our ambition is to offer a wider service range to hepatologists and gastroenterologists which already use our technology. A new development phase, which will include both external growth and the expansion of our international footprint, should drive the profitable growth of the group in the coming years.”
About ECHOSENS
Founded in 2001, the company ECHOSENS has developed a unique technology based on shear wave velocity: the VCTE (Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography). It designed and manufactured its first medical device for liver disease diagnosis in 2004, the FibroScan®. From 2005, many medical publications endorsed ECHOSENS’ technology and the FibroScan®, and they now number nearly a thousand. In 2011, the Chinese company Inner Mongolia FuRui Medical Science acquired all the shares of ECHOSENS, which continued its development through the growth of its subsidiaries in Madrid, Bonn, Hong-Kong and Shanghai and nearly 40 distribution partners in the world. In 2012, ECHOSENS acquired the FibroMeter® in order to add to its service range before receiving authorization from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for its technology in 2013. The group today exports its products, which are all exclusively manufactured in France, in around 70 countries throughout the world.
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