Femmes et sciences, Israël : Ornim, co-fondée par Revital Shechter et Michal Balberg lève 10 millions de dollars
[:fr]Fondée en 2004, la société israélienne Ornim Medical qui a développé CerOx, dispositif médical non-invasif et non-traumatique permettant de surveiller l’oxygénation cérébrale par spectroscopie proche infrarouge (NIRS), vient de lever 10 millions de dollars auprès de GE Healthcare, OrbiMed Advisors LLC et Agate Medical Investments LP.
Ornim a été cofondée en 2004 par deux israéliennes, le Dr. Revital Shechter et le Dr. Michal Balberg grâce au fond de capital risque de Davidi Gilo, INVeSHARE. Le marché du NIRS va connaitre un essor considérable, il est évalué à 1,8 milliard de dollars d’ici à 2018 uniquement pour le cerveau.
L’imagerie spectroscopique proche infrarouge (NIRS en anglais) permet de mesurer l’oxygénation d’une zone du cerveau afin d’en déduire son activité et l’impact sur la motricité du patient. CerOx surveille indépendamment deux variables critiques chez les patients adultes : l’hémoglobine et la saturation en oxygène dans le cerveau ou d’autres tissus en profondeur, et la micro-circulation sanguine. Le maintien de la circulation sanguine et d’une oxygénation adéquate sont deux objectifs cliniques clés lors des soins intensifs des patients. Les mesures complètes de ces deux variables ne peuvent se faire aujourd’hui qu’en utilisant de multiples dispositifs invasifs.
La technologie brevetée UTLight™ de Ornim utilise l’interaction de la lumière et des ultrasons. Le lancement commercial de CerOx, dispositif approuvé par la FDA, avait été annoncé fin 2012 « dans les 18 mois à venir », suite à une levée de fonds de 20M$ auprès de GE.
En savoir plus : s’abonner à la version papier d’Israël Science Info[:en]Ornim Medical, a biomedical technology company pioneering non-invasive patient monitoring solutions for cerebral and tissue blood flow with the innovative CerOx™ & c-FLOW™ devices, completed a fundraising round of $10 million led by OrbiMed Israel, with participation by GE and Agate venture capital fund. The fundraising constitutes the second phase of the previous fundraising round carried out by the company in 2012, where OrbiMed, GE, and Agate invested a total of $10 million. According to Ornim, the current fundraising phase was carried out after fulfilling all set milestones, including placement of systems in leading centers, mainly in the U.S., and research
and development goals.
The company’s lead devices, CerOx™ and c-Flow™, employ Ornim Medical’s patented UTLight™ technology, which utilizes weak acoustic beams to identify light emerging from deep tissue layers. UTLight™ harnesses the ability of near-infrared light to measure regional oxygen saturation in combination with ultrasound that can achieve localization via the acousto-optic effect. Both the CerOx™ and c-FLOW™, are designed to address critical unmet needs in the care of patients in neuro-critical care units and operating rooms.
The CerOx™ monitor is the only FDA-cleared device enabling continuous, non-invasive measurement of blood flow and oxygen saturation in real time. Without this device, clinicians’ options are limited to indirect non-specific brain indexes or a designated expensive and invasive piece of equipment that may provide only partial information. The CerOx™ and c-FLOW™ are mainly intended for use in operating rooms, neuro-critical care and intensive care units, recovery rooms, and emergency rooms, and in the future, ambulances and MediVac. Ornim Medical is located in Kfar-Saba, Israel and currently employs 30 professionals, including doctors, physicists, bio-engineers and researchers.
Israel Schreiber, CEO of Ornim Medical, stated: “We are very pleased with the significant progress made by the company on all levels, and with the clinical results achieved by physicians working with our system, in particular. We succeeded in focusing our efforts and, within a relatively short period of time, have deployed our technology in thought-leading global medical centers.
We are proud that we have the trust of several leading international entities such as OrbiMed and GE; this is an important recognition of the company’s potential to become a global leader. Collaboration with these entities will allow Ornim to accelerate product development activities and continue to lay the foundation for further global expansion in the future and enjoy quality support from the international teams of both companies. The investment will allow the company to continue accelerating product development process while promoting the company’s international marketing.”
Israel Schreiber continued: “There is increasing recognition around the world of the need to specifically protect the brain during the execution of various medical procedures. Ornim’s innovative technology allows real-time monitoring of brain tissue oxygen saturation level as well as changes in blood supply to the brain. This technology will allow customized patient treatment – personalized medicine – and earlier medical intervention, thus preventing complications. The potential market for the company is very large, and the solutions existing today are not sufficient, as demonstrated by the clinical results of patients in intensive care who often experience brain damage, decline in cognitive function, and other neurological complications.”[:]
