Ithera Medical is securing 13 million euros in a Series D funding round. The medtech company operates in the field of opto-acoustic imaging for medical diagnostics and has developed the laser light-based “MSOT” technology (Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography) for detecting various diseases such as cancer or fibrosis. Bayern Kapital is participating again in the Series D round, using funds from the Bavaria Growth Fund. Other investors in the funding round totaling 13 million euros are Trumpf Venture as lead investor, the European Innovation Council Fund of the European Commission, and existing investors Mey Capital Matrix, BayBG, Fluxunit, Falk Strascheg Holding, and Occident Group.
Advancing development toward clinical routine application
Ithera Medical was founded in 2010 as a spin-off from the Helmholtz Center Munich with the goal of commercializing research results in the field of innovative medical imaging procedures. Ithera’s MSOT technology uses the photoacoustic effect – the conversion of light energy into sound waves – to characterize different tissue types in the body, differentiate them, and convert them into 3D images. Unlike established imaging procedures, it can display anatomical, functional, and molecular tissue information with high resolution at depths of several centimeters. This is intended to enable physicians to make diagnoses early, non-invasively, and in real time – for example in vascular, fibrotic, or tumor diseases. MSOT has demonstrated its potential clinical value in studies and is already being used in clinical research.
With the new financial resources, the company aims to advance the transition of MSOT from research to clinical routine application. To this end, Ithera Medical is developing an MSOT device optimized for clinical routine use in order to obtain regulatory approval for use in Europe and the USA (CE and FDA approval) and to expand the clinical evidence from previous studies.
Christian Wiest, CEO and co-founder of Ithera Medical, comments:
“This funding round is the next important step in transforming our MSOT technology from a research instrument into a diagnostic tool in the clinical environment, which we believe will be a decisive advantage for millions of patients around the world. The support of our investors – both new and existing – will enable us to realize this vision.”
Minimizing patient risks
Ulrich Kruse, Investment Manager at Trumpf Venture, comments:
“Ithera Medical’s technology is capable of achieving the next breakthrough in medical imaging. As a company with roots in photonics and medical technology, we are pleased to support the further development of MSOT and expect a successful market launch in medical imaging.”
And Georg Ried, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital, says:
“MSOT addresses some critical limitations of today’s non-invasive in vivo imaging technologies and combines the ease of use and depth penetration of conventional handheld ultrasound systems with previously unattainable high-resolution optical information down to the molecular level. This makes it possible to minimize patient risks and reduce financial burdens in several areas of healthcare systems worldwide. We are therefore very pleased to continue the path we have taken together in the future.”
