Israeli medical watch company CardiacSense, a portfolio company of Merchavia Holdings & Investments Ltd. (TASE:MRHL), has raised $500,000 at a company value of $20 million before money, thereby tripling the company's value in the space of a year.
CardiacSense is developing a watch that detects heart disorders (Arrhythmia). The company signed an agreement several months ago with Cleveland Clinic to form a marketing strategy and to obtain indemnity from US insurance companies for its product. Merchavia invested in the company a year ago at a $6 million value.
Merchavia, an Israeli holdings and investments company specializing in early stage life sciences companies, announced that CardiacSense, in which Merchavia holds a 6.6% stake, had signed an investment agreement with a foreign investment group that invested in its most recent round. The foreign company is now increasing its investment by $475,000. A company controlled by Merchavia chairperson Rani Lifshitz, which invested $25,000, has now also increased its share at a company value of $20 million before money. The current round was limited to $2 million. The company value for the round is over triple the value it was for Merchavia's investment.
Following Merchavia's investment, additional financing rounds were held: $600,000 was raised in October 2017 at a company value of $10 million and $1.5 million was raised from a group of foreign investors in November 2017 at a company value of $12 million.
Merchavia CEO Eli Arad said, "We are glad about CardiacSense's additional financing round reflecting a company value of $20 million, triple the initial investment a year ago. The investors who have invested in CardiacSense over the past year were expressing their confidence in the technology and the company and its ability to realize its business potential. Using the money raised in its recent financing rounds, including the current one, CardiacSense plans to go forward with the development of its product, while completing regulatory targets such as CE approval in Europe, FDA approval in the US, and CFDA approval in China, in addition to completing the clinical trials on hundreds of patients for hypertension and cardiac disorders, for the purpose of significantly enhancing value for the shareholders."
Caesarea-based CardiacSense, founded in 2009, has 15 employees. The company is developing a watch to monitor body medical indicators. The watch facilitates continuous and unlimited monitoring of heartbeat rates in order to detect disorders such as atrial fibrillation and heart failure at accuracy comparable to that of an EKG, the most accurate test currently in existence. The monitoring market that CardiacSense is aiming at is estimated at $3 billion a year. The watch developed by the company is based on a unique combination of patented technologies for reading optical signals sensing movement, pressure, temperature, etc. that gives that product a high level of accuracy and eliminates erroneous readings.
CardiacSense completed a successful clinical trial on human patients at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) in 2016 in which 20 patients with cardiac disorders wore the watch continuously. The accurate measuring obtained was the best in the market, comparable to the quality and accuracy of an EKG test. Under CardiacSense's agreement, Cleveland Clinic will provides consultation for the company and help it formulate marketing and sales strategy in the US, as well as its policy for obtaining reimbursement for its product from US insurance companies.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 28, 2018
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