Evident Vascular raises $35m, and other digital financings

Our latest rundown of funding and financing rounds in the digital health category includes a sizeable Series A for Evident Vascular, with smaller raises for 4D Lifetec, NYU Langone, Allara, Good Doctor, Ventricle Health, Leucine, and Strolll.

Medtech start-up Evident Vascular has come out of stealth mode with its $35 million first round – provided by Vensana Capital – that will be used to fund the development of its artificial intelligence-based intravascular imaging technology.

The AI is used in conjunction with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), a technique used to acquire images from inside blood vessels to gauge the extent of cardiovascular disease and guide treatment. It aims to overcome shortcomings in current IVUS technologies with improved image quality, interpretation, and workflow management.

Swiss investment group Xlife Sciences has invested CHF 23.3 million ($26 million) in 4D Lifetec, taking a 20% stake in the company, which is developing artificial intelligence-powered software for early cancer detection based on a blood test.

4D Lifetec’s 4D Lifetest technology looks for a biomarker for stage I and II cancer in blood samples – DNA damage sensitivity or DDS – combined with an AI to interpret the findings. The company is also considering an initial public offering in the US, according to Xlife.

The Institute for Excellence in Health Equity at NYU Langone Health has been granted $12.5 million in funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop a digital intervention to address the rising maternal mortality rate in the US, which has doubled in the last 20 years and disproportionately affects Black women.

The funding will be used to further develop a nutrition and lifestyle counselling programme for pregnant women developed by NYU researchers, called JustMothers, which will be delivered by community health workers using culturally relevant text messaging and video links.

New York start-up Allara, which is developing a virtual care platform for women of reproductive age dealing with chronic hormonal conditions, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Google’s GV, with participation from Great Oaks Venture Capital, Humbition, Vanterra, Gaingels, and individual investors.

The company’s platform pairs patients with doctors and registered dietitians and is used by insurers in eight US states. It provides care for women with conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, or hypothyroidism.

Indonesian telehealth specialist Good Doctor Technology has raised $10 million in Series A funding to develop the reach of its digital health platform, which provides online consultations and other health services to health insurance companies and corporations in its home market, as well as Thailand.

The round in the Jakarta-based start-up was led by MDI Ventures, with participation from fintech group Grab, an existing investor. Part of the new funding will go towards integrating its telehealth systems with the national health insurance programme in Indonesia.

Ventricle Health has raised $8 million in seed funding from RA Capital Management, Waterline Ventures, and other investors for its digital cardiology care platform, which aims to provide access to consultations in a patient’s own home in as little as three days.

The physician-led network of cardiologists, health coaches, and pharmacists provides virtual services to health systems in Florida, Texas, Ohio, and the Mid-Atlantic region, and says it will use the funding to expand its heart failure management capabilities, claimed to reduce the average annual cost of heart failure care by 30%-50%. The company says that, currently, in the US 50% of cardiovascular patients do not have access to a cardiologist, and the wait for an initial consultation averages 26 days.

Leucine has completed a Series A led by Ecolab and supported by existing investors Axilor Ventures, Techstars, and Pravega Ventures, that will be used for its artificial intelligence-based platform to help pharma companies keep their manufacturing operations in compliance with regulations and guidance.

The system acts as a ‘digital twin’ of manufacturing shop floor workflows, providing real-time insights into performance, and aims to replace traditional paper-based compliance records that, according to Leucine, are costly and inefficient.

UK-based Strolll has raised £2.1 million ($2.6 million) in seed investment from Midven, Martlet Capital, SFC Capital, and multiple angel backers for its digital therapeutic software for augmented reality goggles, developed for people living with neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease.

The Lichfield company’s Reality DTx software and Cue X glasses use gamification and methods to train gait and balance in Parkinson’s and prevent falls, as well as help patients navigate their environment by placing visual cues within space that can help to engage areas of the brain associated with movement.