- $20 million institutional investment round led by Swisscanto Invest, alongside Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, Swisscom Ventures, and Verve Ventures
- Funds will support expansion of Medimaps' AI product portfolio into the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
- US reimbursement for flagship imaging software TBS Osteo™ begins January 1, 2022
Geneva, Switzerland — December 1, 2021
Medimaps — the creator of TBS® (Trabecular Bone Score®), the global standard in bone microarchitecture assessment — today announced that it has secured $20 million in an institutional investment round led by Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank, alongside Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, Swisscom Ventures, and Verve Ventures.
The funds will be used to expand Medimaps’ product portfolio with the development and market launch of its patented AI applications for bone health assessment in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. TBS Osteo™ will receive medical reimbursement in the US beginning January 1, 2022.
There is an osteoporotic fracture every three seconds.¹ The estimated annual cost of these fractures is $52 billion in the United States and €57 billion in Europe, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the International Osteoporosis Foundation respectively² ³ — costs expected to grow substantially with the aging population. This is largely a result of 75% of high-risk patients not being diagnosed or screened in a timely manner.⁴ Of the patients who do receive a bone mineral density (BMD) assessment, roughly 40% are incompletely diagnosed, because BMD measures only the quantity of bone, not its quality.⁵
TBS Osteo™ provides deep-tech bone texture analysis related to bone microarchitecture to assess bone quality, enabling clinicians to identify patients sooner, classify their fracture risk, and improve patient management while reducing the cost of care. It has been shown that 30% of osteopenic patients are reclassified with TBS®.⁶ The technology uses images already acquired for other purposes, so patients are not exposed to additional radiation, and it integrates seamlessly into clinical workflow.
"We are delighted, alongside our investment partners, to lead the investment in Medimaps. We were very impressed with their level of clinical validation and medical acceptance worldwide. Medimaps is well positioned to lead the way for innovative solutions in bone health assessment and advancing AI analytics in medical imaging. Their technology can make a real difference in medical practices and ultimately improve patients' lives. And now, with reimbursement in the US, Medimaps' solutions will be widely available."
said Dr. Robert Schier, Investment Director PE/VC, Swisscanto Invest.
Medimaps’ proprietary and patented technology is built on a deep learning, multi-layer approach, applicable across a wide spectrum of image modalities and resolutions — providing solutions ranging from opportunistic X-ray-based screening to patient risk profiling and presurgical assessment.
"This is a great moment for clinicians and their patients. We are dedicated to the vision of improving bone health assessment to help patients before it's too late. Our passion is to improve patient care and empower doctors' decisions by developing innovative, simple solutions to complex medical needs for the benefit of healthy aging."
said Prof. Didier Hans, CEO of Medimaps.
About the Investors
Swisscanto Invest is the asset management arm of the Zürcher Kantonalbank group, one of Switzerland’s largest fund providers, developing high-quality investment and pension solutions for private investors, companies, and institutions. The Swisscanto Growth Fund provides capital to companies in the expansion phase active in information, communication, and technology (ICT) as well as healthcare, mainly in Switzerland and opportunistically abroad.
The Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, created jointly by die Mobiliar, Credit Suisse, UBS, and the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation, provides capital to promising startups and growing companies, investing predominantly in Swiss companies that already have products in market and an established customer base.
Swisscom Ventures is the venture capital arm of Swisscom AG, the leading telecom and ICT provider in Switzerland. Since 2007, it has invested in over 75 technology companies from its offices in Switzerland (Zurich and Bern) and the USA (Silicon Valley).
Verve Ventures is a network- and technology-driven venture capital firm with more than 45 team members, and Europe’s 6th most active health tech investor.
References
1. Johnell, O. and Kanis, J.A. *An estimate of the worldwide prevalence and disability associated with osteoporotic fractures.* Osteoporos Int, 2006. 17(12): p. 1726–33.
2. Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation. https://www.bonehealthpolicyinstitute.org/bone-facts
3. International Osteoporosis Foundation. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation/news/fragility-fractures-cost-european-health-care-systems-eu569-billion-annually-20210607-2118
4. Delmas, P.D., et al. *Underdiagnosis of vertebral fractures is a worldwide problem: the IMPACT study.* J Bone Miner Res, 2005. 20(4): p. 557–63.
5. Siris, E.S., et al. *Bone Mineral Density Thresholds for Pharmacological Intervention to Prevent Fractures.* Arch Intern Med, 2004. 164(10): p. 1108–1112. doi:10.1001/archinte.164.10.1108
6. Adapted from Table 3 in Hans, D., et al. *Bone microarchitecture assessed by TBS predicts osteoporotic fractures independent of bone density: the Manitoba study.* J Bone Miner Res, 2011 Nov; 26(11): 2762–9. doi:10.1002/jbmr.499