The Danish pharmaceutical and medical device company MedTrace has just closed an investment round of 18.2 million euros, overperforming its target of raising 15 million. In a challenging capital market, the investors have reaffirmed their confidence in MedTrace’s goal of making 15O-water practically available for clinical diagnosis, says CFO Ann Kristin Led. The Danish investors ATP and MedTravest as well as the Swiss investors Swisscanto and Verve Ventures are lead investors of this financing round.
MedTrace has developed a solution for the tracer 15O-water which could enable hospitals worldwide to use it in clinical practice for PET scans. The vision is to provide more precise diagnostics for critically ill patients, initially focusing on heart patients.
Now MedTrace is a significant step closer to achieving this vision. The new investment secures the company’s three strategic projects: the completion of the phase 3 trial, the finalization of the company’s evaluation software, and the first regulatory approvals.
Claus Berner Møller, Vice President at ATP and Chairman of the Board at MedTrace stated:
“MedTrace has notably received the FDA’s acceptance to proceed directly to phase 3 because 15O-water is already well-described in research. The company provides a solution that addresses the cumbersome handling of the tracer, which holds great potential for diagnosing heart patients. At ATP, we see significant potential in MedTrace’s technologies, and we look forward to the results of the phase 3 trial and the next steps in MedTrace’s development”.
In March 2022, MedTrace received the FDA’s acceptance to initiate a phase 3 trial examining the diagnostic accuracy and safety of using 15O-water as a tracer in PET scans for patients suspected of cardiovascular diseases.
Since its founding in 2015, MedTrace has raised funds on multiple occasions, and this is now the second time they have secured a double-digit million euro investment, which, according to CFO Ann Kristin Led, is quite an achievement with the current state of the financial markets.
“The investor environment and financial markets have changed significantly in the past couple of years, and I believe that anyone raising funds today would agree that it has become much more challenging than just 18 months ago. Therefore, I am pleased and proud that MedTrace has raised more than 18 million euros, which is also an overperformance of our target of raising 15 million. It is recognition and validation from investors that MedTrace is a well-run company with innovative technology and a promising future,” says CFO Ann Kristin Led.
MedTrace’s technology for the production, dosing, and injection of 15O-water is already in use at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen and Aarhus University Hospital under a magistral exemption and exemption from CE marking issued by the Danish Medicines Agency. Aarhus University Hospital has recently scanned patient number 3000 using 15O-water produced with MedTrace’s technology.
About MedTrace
MedTrace, founded in 2015 and headquartered in DTU Science Park in Hørsholm, Denmark, is a late-stage clinical development company. MedTrace’s technology consists of an automated hardware system for the production, dosing, and injection of 15O-water and proprietary analytical software for processing PET scan images. The company has an ongoing phase 3 trial in the USA. Additionally, MedTrace has recently obtained ISO 13485 certification for their Quality Management System and submitted an application for CE marking for a part of the company’s medical equipment.
About ATP
ATP is a self-governing institution, established by the Danish Parliament by law in 1964. Today, the ATP Group is Denmark’s largest pension and processing company. It is based in Hillerød and has around 3,000 employees working across three areas: managing pensions, investment and administration.
About Swisscanto
Swisscanto is the asset management arm of the Zürcher Kantonalbank, one of Switzerland’s largest fund providers, developing high-quality investment and pension solutions for private investors, companies and institutions. Swisscanto (CH) Private Equity Switzerland Growth I KmGK fund managed by the Swisscanto / Zürcher Kantonalbank provides capital to unlisted growth companies with innovative technologies and business models in the areas of in the information and data services, industry and health. The fund aims at creating added value during business expansion by supporting its portfolio companies with capital, know-how and access to international partners until a successful exit. For more information visit swisscanto.com.
About MedTravest
MedTravest is an investment company established with the sole purpose of investing in MedTrace Pharma A/S. The company was founded in 2016 by a group of private individuals with the aim of supporting MedTrace on its journey from idea to commercialization. Since its inception, the company has evolved from a single legal entity into multiple entities. It is MedTravest III and IV that have participated with a significant amount in the latest fundraising. Among the shareholders are two of the founders of MedTrace, Peter Larsen and Rune Wiik Kristensen.
About Verve Ventures
Verve Ventures is one of Europe’s 10 most active venture capital investors. Founded in 2010 in Switzerland, Verve has offices in Zurich, Paris and Berlin and a team of around 50 people. Verve has invested in 168 science- and technology-driven startups from Seed stage onward. Through Verve, startups get access to a large and sophisticated network of private and institutional investors that help them win new clients and hire top talent. Visit verve.vc.