Insight Venture Partners Invests $26M Series B in LeanTaaS to Fuel Growth of Healthcare Operations Platform

Insight Venture

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–LeanTaaS, Inc., a Silicon Valley software innovator that increases patient access and transforms operational performance for healthcare providers, today announced that new investor Insight Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital and private equity firm, has invested $26 million in a Series B round of financing.

“Healthcare is a difficult space in which to bring about radical change,” said Jeff Horing, co-founder and managing director of Insight Venture Partners. “We are impressed by the quality of deep customer partnerships, the product portfolio and the team that LeanTaaS has assembled.”

The company’s solutions — relied upon by more than 40 of the nation’s leading hospitals and infusion centers — use lean principles, predictive analytics, machine learning and the cloud to dramatically improve the patient experience. LeanTaaS customers have reduced wait times for appointments and surgeries by up to 50 percent, increased patient access by as much as 30 percent and improved operational performance up to 20 percent through increased revenue and reduced costs.

The mathematical foundation on which patient appointments are scheduled is fundamentally flawed. As a result, expensive assets like infusion chairs, operating rooms, diagnostic imaging equipment and inpatient beds are commonly over- and underutilized, often on the same day.

LeanTaaS has quickly emerged as the leader in using advanced data science and mathematics to address this perplexing paradox. The company’s patent-pending algorithms help providers do more with existing assets and defer investments in additional staff, equipment and facilities. LeanTaaS solutions also improve surgeon access to valuable operating room time, lower wait times for patients and level-load the day for anesthesiologists, nurses and staff.

“We are privileged to work with many of the leading health systems in the country to demonstrate the impact of combining lean principles, predictive analytics and scalable software to drive significant improvements in operational performance and asset utilization,” said Mohan Giridharadas, founder and CEO of LeanTaaS. “This investment from Insight Venture Partners is a strong validation of our approach and will enable us to dramatically accelerate our growth over the coming years.”

The financing will fund continued investment in the LeanTaaS iQueue platform, which currently consists of two solutions: iQueue for Infusion Centers and iQueue for Operating Rooms. In May 2017, the company also established iQueue Labs, which explores answers to emerging, significant operational challenges in diagnostic imaging departments, emergency departments, pharmacies, labs and inpatient beds. The iQueue platform is a cloud service that works with any electronic health record and requires only minimal assistance by the provider’s internal IT staff to set up and use.

LeanTaaS joins an Insight Venture Partners portfolio that already boasts five companies on Inc.’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Nordstjernan to invest in Lideta Hälsovård

 

Nordstjernan

Nordstjernan has reached an agreement with the founding Larsson/Lewné family on acquiring a majority of the shares in Lideta Hälsovård (“Lideta”). Dr. Simon Larsson and Hugo Lewné will remain as shareholders in Lideta, and Mr. Lewné will also remain as CEO.

Lideta engages in primary care via 15 units in Stockholm and southern Sweden. The company has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2001 by Dr. Larsson. The company currently has 93,000 listed patients, 350 employees and sales of approximately SEK 500 million. Over the last few years, Lideta has grown through acquisitions and invested in various digital initiatives to increase the accessibility and efficiency of primary care.

Tomas Billing, CEO of Nordstjernan, says:

“Nordstjernan sees a major future need of high-quality private health care. We are becoming the majority shareholder in Lideta, a well-managed company, with the ambition of being part of and developing a high-quality company in Swedish health care over many years.”

Hugo Lewné, CEO of Lideta, says:

“We are very pleased to get Nordstjernan as majority shareholder in Lideta. Our family looks forward to continuing to develop the company together with Nordstjernan.”

Lideta is Nordstjernan’s third investment in the care and health care sector. Since 2007, Nordstjernan has owned Etac, a global medical aid company whose offerings include products for people with impaired mobility. In 2015, Nordstjernan invested in the listed care company Attendo and is now the company’s largest shareholder.

Nordstjernan has a long tradition as an active shareholder in listed and private companies. Nordstjernan was founded in 1890 and its major shareholder is the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit.

The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities, which is expected during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The parties have agreed not to publish the terms of the transaction.

Tomas Billing
President and CEO
Nordstjernan AB

Questions will be answered by:

Tomas Billing, CEO, Nordstjernan
Telephone: +46 8 788 50 18
E-mail: tomas.billing@nordstjernan.se

Hugo Lewné, CEO, Lideta Hälsovård
Telephone: +46 42 453 04 90
E-mail: hugo@lideta.se

Nordstjernan is a family-controlled investment company that creates growth in value through long-term and active ownership of Nordic companies. More information about Nordstjernan is available at www.nordstjernan.se. 

Lideta Hälsovård is a medical care company that engages in primary care in Stockholm and southern Sweden. More information about Lideta is available at www.lideta.se.

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Successful IPO of bm|t portfolio company inflaRx at NASDAQ

BM-T

InflaRx, the biopharmaceutical company developing new therapeutics in the terminal complement space, yesterday announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,667,000 common shares at an initial public offering price of $15.00 per common share, for total gross proceeds of approximately $100 million. In addition, InflaRx has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,000,050 common shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the common shares are being offered by InflaRx.

InflaRx GmbH

The shares started trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 8, 2017 under the ticker symbol “IFRX.”

J.P. Morgan, Leerink Partners and BMO Capital Markets acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

bm|t has been an investor in inflaRx from day one and is extremely proud have supported yet another success story from Thuringia.

About InflaRx: InflaRx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on applying its proprietary anti-C5a technology to discover and develop first-in-class, potent and specific inhibitors of C5a.

Contacts:

InflaRx GmbH
Prof. Dr. Niels C. Riedemann – CEO
Email: info[at]inflarx.de
Tel: +49-3641-508180

MC Services AG
Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Loeser
Email: inflarx[at]mc-services.eu
Tel: +49-89-210 2280

 

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Karolinska Development will receive shares in Pharmanest AB

Karolinska

STOCKHOLM – November 9, 2017. Karolinska Development today announces that the company will receive 140,149 shares in Pharmanest AB. Furthermore, the company will receive 11,527 shares via KCIF Co-Investment Fund. In total, this corresponds to an ownership of 10,4 percent in Pharmanest. Pharmanest is one of the companies covered by Karolinska Development’s earn out-agreements. The transaction requires approval at the general meeting at Pharmanest.

Pharmanest develops a new and innovative treatment of pain in conjunction with gynaecological procedures, based on its unique technology platform SHACT. The company recently entered a license agreement with the pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter Plc. This agreement gives Gedeon Richter the right to commercialize Pharmanest’s SHACT technology in Europe, Latin America and other specific geographies.

Karolinska Development will receive 140,149 shares in Pharmanest. Moreover, Karolinska development will receive 11,527 shares via KCIF Co-Investment Fund KB, a holding company jointly owned by the European Investment Fund and Karolinska Development.

“The ownership in Pharmanest AB has a positive impact on our overall portfolio value and we look forward to following the company’s future development. This is yet another confirmation of the value in the earn-out agreements we have signed in conjunction with divestments”, says Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development.
For further information, please contact:

Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 982 52 02, e-mail: viktor.drvota@karolinskadevelopment.com

Christian Tange, CFO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 712 14 30, e-mail: christian.tange@karolinskadevelopment.com

TO THE EDITORS

About Karolinska Development AB
Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is a Nordic life sciences investment company. The company focuses on identifying breakthrough medical innovations in the Nordic region that are developed by entrepreneurs and leadership teams. The Company invests in the creation and growth of companies that advance these assets into commercial products that are designed to make a difference to patients’ lives while providing an attractive return on investment to shareholders.

Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The Company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.

Karolinska Development has established a portfolio of nine companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.

The Company is led by an entrepreneurial team of investment professionals with a proven track record as company builders and with access to a strong global network.

For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com

This information is information that Karolinska Development AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of Viktor Drvota, at 2.45 pm CET on 9 of November 2017. 

 

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CSAM Health AS announces agreement to aquire Databyrån AB

Priveq

The agreed Acquisition of ProSang company strengthens CSAM’s position as the leading provider of specialized solutions in the Nordic eHealth Market.

OSLO, Norway

(November 1st , 2017) – CSAM Health AS announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish company Databyrån AB, makers of ProSang. With this acquisition, CSAM adds an exciting new specialized product area to its leading portfolio of eHealth niche solutions in the Nordics.

ProSang is an advanced Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that simplifies the entire management of blood – from blood donor call–up to transfusion. Since its inception in 1965, Databyrån AB has grown to achieve a leading market position within the Nordics. Today, more than 180 blood centres and several clinical immunology and transplantation departments use ProSang.

“Databyrån AB has established loyal and satisfied user groups in many countries, and I am incredibly impressed by what their team has accomplished with ProSang,” said Sverre Flatby, CEO of CSAM. “We are proud that the owners of ProSang have chosen to join the CSAM team, and we look forward to welcoming them and working together to secure further growth and export.”

“To continue the journey towards our ambitious vision, I am confident that CSAM is the best home for ProSang, Databyrån’s employees, and our customers,” said Daniel Wiman, Press release November 1st, 2017

Chairman of Databyrån AB. “Today’s agreement ensures that our employees can continue working as a specialized team, while benefitting from the shared services CSAM provides, and strengthening our sales and development capabilities.” The Databyrån AB transaction reinforces CSAM’s focus on accelerating growth through strategic acquisitions, strengthening the company’s portfolio of niche products and their leadership position in the Nordic eHealth market.

About CSAM Health AS

CSAM is a privately-owned eHealth company delivering software solutions that enable healthcare providers to access relevant clinical information at the point of care. CSAM’s headquarters are located in Oslo, Norway, with local offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere, and London. The company also has a fully owned software engineering subsidiary in the Philippines. CSAM has established itself as a leading Nordic niche player in the specialized eHealth market, with a unique blend of best-in-class innovative technology and outstanding human skills. Backed by strong financial owners, CSAM aspires to achieve continued growth both organically and through selected mergers and acquisitions.

For more information, visit csamhealth.com

About Databyrån AB

Databyrån AB is based in Sweden and serves healthcare professionals across the Nordics. Founded in 1965, the company is a leader in software development for transfusion medicine, developing strong relationships with its users. Databyrån AB’s clients span the fields of transfusion medicine, immunology, transplantation immunology, and tissue management.

For more information, visit databyran.se and prosang.com

For more information, please contact:

Daniel Wiman

Chairman, Databyrån AB

+46 70-482 77 57

 

daniel.wiman@databyran.se

Sverre Flatby

Group CEO, CSAM Health AS

+47 9159 9159

sverre.flatby@csamhealth.com

 

 

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Deutsche Beteiligungs AG: Cleanpart Group sells healthcare business

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG

Sales of Healthcare division tripled in space of two years
•    Focus on semiconductor industry business
•    Objective: Expansion of market position in the US

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 3 November 2017. Cleanpart Group GmbH, a company in the Deutschen Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) portfolio, will in future focus on providing services for the semiconductor industry and is therefore selling its healthcare business. The buyer is VAMED, a hospital services provider, majority owned by Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA. In April 2015, DBAG invested in Cleanpart alongside DBAG Fund VI for which it provides consultation; the fund had acquired the company as part of the company’s successor solution. The partial sale has been completed with an attractive valuation; it reflects the company’s development, the good course of business in the last two years and the positive outlook for the coming years. The valuation is above that of the investment value in the last interim report published by DBAG. The rise in value has already been taken into consideration in the current DBAG forecast for the 2016/2017 financial year (30 September, preliminary figures will be published on 23 November 2017).

Cleanpart Group (www.cleanpart.com) generated over 20 percent of its revenues with its healthcare business. The company prepared reusable medical products for hospitals as an external service provider. Services included manual and mechanical instrument cleaning and sterilisation as well as repair and maintenance. Cleanpart also provided hospital operators with planning and construction consultation as well as advice for the operation of central sterilisation. The healthcare business has shown very positive development over the last two years: revenues have trebled, internally, thanks to measures to broaden the service portfolio, and externally, thanks to the acquisition of a competitor. Investments were also made in a new site to expand capacity.

“The market environment in our core business – the semiconductor industry – is excellent and offers great growth opportunities with existing and new customers,” explains Dr Udo Nothelfer, Chairman of the Cleanpart Management Board. “We want to make the most of these opportunities by focussing on our core business.” This is due to the sustained high level of investment in the development of new semiconductor manufacturing facilities and the good capacity utilisation levels of existing production facilities. Cleanpart maintains process-critical components in machines that are primarily used in the production of logic chips, memory chips, etc. Since these components become contaminated and wear out, they must be regularly decontaminated, cleaned and coated to ensure that they meet the extreme purity and performance requirements in the production processes of chip manufacturers. This also extends the components’ useful lives.

Torsten Grede, Spokesman of the DBAG Board of Management, commented on the partial sale: “Cleanpart has a solid foundation and a leading market position in Europe – we will now assist the company’s management in expanding its market position in the US with a strategy based on high technological differentiation.”

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Norvestor divests Life Europe AB

Norvestor

Norvestor IV, L.P. (“Norvestor”) has signed an agreement to divest Life Europe AB (“Life” or “the Company”),a leading specialist retailer of health and wellness products in Sweden, Norway and Finland, to Fairford Group.

Norvestor invested in Life in 2005. During Norvestor’s ownership, the company has become the clear market leader as a specialist health and wellness retailer in the Nordic region and one of the largest specialist retailers within its’ space in the world. Life currently has over 380 stores including own stores and franchise stores. The Company has above 600 employees and revenues of around SEK 1.2 billion in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

“For the Norvestor team, it has been an interesting journey building Life to the clear market leader in the Nordics together with all the competent people in the Company. We are happy to see Fairford coming on board to support further development for Life and expand their strong market position”, says Lars Grinde, Managing Partner in Norvestor.

“With Norvestor as the main shareholder, Life has over the last years built not only the biggest health and wellness retail chain in the Nordic region but also the two biggest health and wellness product distributers. With this distribution power we look forward to meeting new opportunities together with Fairford”, says Erik Frydenberg, CEO in Life. Norvestor was advised by Advokatfirman Lindahl.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from competition authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

For further information:

Lars Grinde, Managing Partner in Norvestor Equity AS

Telephone: +47402 11 444

Email: lars.grinde@norvestor.com

Erik Frydenberg, CEO in Life

Telephone: +47 922 29 955

Email: erik.fryd enberg@lifeeurope.com

 

Life Europe AB is the leading specialist retail of health and wellness products in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Read more at www.lifebutiken.se

Norvestor Equity AS is a leading private equity company focusing on lower mid -market buyouts in the Nordic region. The team has worked together since 1991 making it one of the most experienced private equity teams in Norway, having executed 66 investments with 260 follow – on M&A transactions, in addition to executing 43 exits including 14 IPOs.

Norvestor focuses on investment opportunities in growth companies, making platform investments principally in Norway and Sweden, with potential to achieve a leading Nordic or international position either through organic growth, through acquisitions or by expanding into new countries. Funds advised by Norvestor are currently invested in the following portfolio companies; Johnson Metall, Sentech (formerly Advantec Sensing), Apsis, Aptilo, Cegal, Marine Aluminium, Crayon, Robust, iSurvey, Future Production, Nomor, PG Flow Solutions, Roadworks, Permascand, 4Service, HydraWell, Eneas, Presserv, Nordic Camping & Resort, READ Cased Hole, IT Gården, NetNordic and Wexus.

Read more at www.norvestor.com

 

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Ardian Private Debt arranges unitranche financing supporting the acquisition of EMVIA Living by Chequers Capital

Ardian

Ardian Private Debt, a divison of Ardian, the independent private investment company, announced today that it has provided a Unitranche financing supporting Chequers Capital (“Chequers”), in their acquisition of EMVIA Living, a leading operator of care homes in Germany. The financing also includes an additional committed debt facility to further support the company’s expansion plans.

EMVIA Living, established through a carve-out of the operating business comprising 46 stationary care homes from MK-Kliniken AG, is an independent private company based in Hamburg and Berlin. EMVIA Living has a capacity of around 5,500 beds to service people in need of care and has around 3,200 employees. With c. €200 million in revenues, the company is one of the leading players in its sector in Germany. The company is managed by Markus Speckenbach as CEO.

Mark Brenke, Managing Director & Co-Head Ardian Private Debt, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the management team and Chequers who have a strong track record of investing in Germany’s care home sector. EMVIA Living has a long and well-established market presence as one of the leading private nursing home operators in Germany, leveraging its broad and diversified network of individual homes as well as its deep regional market knowledge. EMVIA is well-positioned for continued growth and Ardian Private Debt is very pleased to be the company’s financing partner”.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private investment company with assets of US$65bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process embodies three values: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship.

Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 470 employees working through twelve offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, Singapore, Jersey, Luxembourg. The company offers its 610 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian Buyout (including Ardian Mid Cap Buyout Europe & North America, Ardian Expansion, Ardian Growth and Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and Ardian Mandates.

ABOUT CHEQUERS CAPITAL

Chequers Capital is one of the leading European private equity houses, focusing on leading companies across all business sectors and has completed a large number of investments in the healthcare sector in several European countries. Chequers‘ previous investment in the stationary care industry was the acquisition of Silver Care. Under the ownership of Chequers the number of operated care homes of Silver Care more than doubled within four years, and was recognised as the quality leader among the large operators in the sector three years in the row based on the public quality rating system of MDK.

PRESS CONTACTS

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Gimv’s & UI Gestion’s majority stake in Almaviva Santé to be acquired by Antin Infrastructure Partners

GIMV

Gimv and UI Gestion today announced having signed exclusivity to negotiate the sale of their stake in Almaviva, the fifth largest private hospital group in France, to Antin Infrastructure Partners. In the period that Gimv and UI Gestion were involved with Almaviva, the company more than tripled in size to become the number one player in the PACA-region and to establish a strong second pole of clinics in the Paris’ region.

Almaviva Santé (www.almaviva-sante.fr) was founded in 2007 by its CEO Bruno Marie with the acquisition of only one hospital in Marseille, but with the clear ambition to create a regional group of high quality private hospitals. Towards the end of 2013, when Almaviva had already grown into a small group of seven private clinics, Gimv and UI Gestion acquired a majority stake in the group. The goal was to help transform Almaviva into one of the leading private clinic groups in France. Today, after a very intense growth trajectory – consisting of acquisitions, mergers, and organic growth – Almaviva has grown into the fifth largest private hospital group in France with 30 clinics, of which 16 in Provence-Alpe-Côte d’Azur (making it the number 1 player in the region) and 14 in the Paris region. An important step in this development was the merger with Domus clinics owned by Sagesse Retraite Santé (SRS), the investment vehicle of Yves Journel.

Almaviva covers most medical and surgical disciplines: surgery, gynaecology-obstetrics (maternity), general medicine and rehabilitation care. It has an excellent reputation in all surgical fields, but especially in orthopaedics, ophthalmology, cardiology and urology. The whole group manages 2,700 beds, 190 operating and examination rooms, employs more than 3,300 people as well as 1,100 independent physicians. In 2017, Almaviva is expected to generate revenues in excess of EUR 300 million, or a more than tripling from the EUR 100 million it realised back in 2012. The different clinics have been able to develop their medical project in order to create an efficient healthcare network that offers its patients an integrated care pathway with a local touch whereby quality, comfort and safety are being combined. It is Almaviva’s ambition to further strengthen its position as a leader in the region by pursuing further expansion and continued operational improvement of its clinics and by extending its care offering.

Gimv and UI Gestion have entered into exclusive negotiation to sell their majority stake in Almaviva Santé to Antin Infrastructure Partners, a leading European private equity firm focused on companies with infra characteristics, amongst which social infrastructure. SRS, as well as the company’s management-team will remain shareholders of Almaviva Santé.

Bruno Marie, CEO of Almaviva Santé, on his experience with a private equity partner:We are pleased having had Gimv and UI Gestion to accompany us during the past 4 years. Thanks to their support, we were able to run a successful partnership during this period of exceptional expansion for Almaviva. We are confident that we will be able to pursue this trajectory with strong partners such as Antin and Yves Journel.

“Almaviva Santé is a role model of a successful growth investment, which perfectly fits with our Health & Care strategy. We are glad that we were able to play an important role in the shaping & execution of the group’s strategy & organization, its buy & build trajectory and its financing. Our team is proud that it was able to contribute significantly to the second growth phase in the company’s expansion,” adds Bart Diels, Managing Partner of Gimv’s Health & Care platform.

Benoit Chastaing, Partner in Gimv‘s Health & Care team and board member of the company comments: “Whereas buy & build strategies in this type of market obviously need to be driven by economic reasons such as critical mass and synergies, Almaviva and Bruno Marie chose to differentiate themselves from other consolidators by focusing on the implementation of ambitious medical projects, the search for excellence and the preservation of the strong identity of the different Almaviva clinics. This is the key to the success of Almaviva Santé and its management team. Therefore we are proud having contributed to this achievement.”

Olivier Jarrousse, Managing Partner of UI Gestion, concludes: Moving from seven establishments to thirty, tripling the turnover, while continuously keeping the focus on excellence is a tremendous achievement. We are proud having been able to participate and contribute to this project, which was carried by Bruno Marie, an excellent developer. It is UI’s goal to play an important role in the transformation of companies. Therefore we are happy that our Health-team led by Sébastien Alauzet contributed to this achievement. We are also proud and happy to hand over this project to a prestigious actor such as Antin, who will enable the group to take the next step in its development.”

Almaviva Santé was the first investment of the Gimv Health & Care Fund, which was launched in 2013. Today, it is also the Fund’s first exit. Over the entire holding period, the investment in Almaviva generated a return well above Gimv’s long-term average return, with a positive impact on the equity value at 30 June 2017 of about EUR 0.75 per Gimv-share. No further details about this transaction will be disclosed.

The transaction, which is expected to close by end December, is subject to customary closing conditions with Almaviva’s work councils and approval by the competition authorities.

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AMRA and BioTelemetry Research Raise the Standard for Medical Imaging

IndustrieFonden

AMRA and BioTelemetry Research, a leading global imaging and cardiac core lab, announced today the formation of an exclusive alliance for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) clinical trials. This first-to-market partnership will advance imaging science and benefit clinical trial sponsors in several musculoskeletal and metabolic therapeutic areas.

In clinical studies, muscle and fat fractions have traditionally been measured by scanning individual organs such as the liver, or particular body regions such as the abdomen. Commonly, researchers would prefer to scan the entire body in order to learn exactly where study participants are losing or gaining muscle or fat mass. However, until now they have been constrained by prohibitive costs and insufficiently precise outcomes.

AMRA’s body composition analysis service has introduced a new and better paradigm where rapid, six-minute whole body MRI scans are transformed into precise, three dimensional-volumetric fat and muscle measurements. This standardized, automated method eliminates reader variability and reduces processing costs. With those advancements, BioTelemetry Research is able to provide clinical trial sponsors with new, high-value information to about their drug compounds’ efficacy and mechanisms of action, including the identification of previously undetectable changes within and beyond the liver.

Tommy Johansson, Chief Executive Officer of AMRA, commented, “BioTelemetry Research is the ideal core lab to help us deliver this enhanced value to clinical trial sponsors. They bring unique expertise managing the protocol complexity, site training intensity and equipment variability that are common to non-standard-of-care MRI trials.” He continued, “BioTelemetry was a leading pioneer in proton density fat fraction (PDFF) analysis, and have analysed more liver fat cases, from more sites, in more regions than any other group in industry. I am excited to see where our partnership will take us.”

BioTelemetry Research President and General Manager, Scott Satin, added, “By employing AMRA’s automated analysis, we are now able to efficiently provide more actionable data to our pharmaceutical partners. Ordinarily, a whole body MRI scan takes 10 to 15 minutes and produces hundreds of images. Prior to AMRA, such analyses were infeasible in clinical trials largely because of the time needed to label fat and muscle tissues within every image. With those challenges eliminated, we can now help sponsors assess the effects of their treatments more quickly and completely.”

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