BioView Ltd., which has developed an automated blood and bone marrow cancer diagnostic system, today raised NIS 24 million on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). IBI Investment House Ltd. (TASE:IBI), Clal Finance Underwriting Ltd., Altshuler Shaham Ltd., and Rosario Capital were the underwriters. The flotation was oversubscribed 1.5%, and 80% of orders were placed by investment institutions.
BioView’s main product is an automated scanning microscope and image analysis system, the Duet System, which automatically analyzes samples of bodily fluids and identifies cancer cells, either by their unique characteristics, or by their chemical signatures. The automated tests save human resources and are sometimes more accurate than manual testing.
In addition to its core cancer diagnostic business, in recent years BioView has expanded into gene testing. The company has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for marketing its Duet System for testing amniotic fluid for genetic flaws in fetuses.
BioView’s main customers are medical laboratories for clinics and hospitals, hospital labs, and research institutes.
BioView was founded in 2000 by CEO Opher Shapira, who previously co-founded Neurological Systems Israel (NSIL), and held executive positions in Applied Materials Israel and Indigo Graphic Systems. BioView co-founder and VP product development Yuval Harari previously served as a manager at NSIL and at IBM Research Lab, Israel. BioView has 17 employees.
BioView’s shareholders are chairman Emanuel Gil, formerly president and CEO of Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT), with a 21.28% stake; Marathon Venture Capital Fund (TASE: MARA) 9.9%; Orbotech Ventures - 8.15%; and several private investors.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 5, 2006