San Diego-based Accumetrics says today it has raised an additional $7 million as part of a Series E venture round that was announced last October, when the biomedical diagnostics company raised about $16.5 million. The company says it has closed out the round after raising $24 million altogether.
The latest funding brings the total capital invested in Accumetrics to roughly $75 million since founder Robert Hillman reacquired the core technology and restarted the company in 2003. Accumetrics says it expects to reach profitability with this latest capital infusion. Accumetrics says the $7 million in funding came primarily from its existing investors, which include: The BBT Fund/Apothecary Capital of Chicago; Oakland, CA-based Kaiser Permanente Ventures; St. Louis, MO-based RiverVest Venture Partners; Portland, OR-based Arnerich Massena & Associates; and Palo Alto, CA-based Essex Woodland Health Ventures.
Accumetrics makes an automated diagnostic instrument called VerifyNow to help doctors calibrate the dosages they prescribe of anti-clotting drugs such as aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), abciximab (ReoPro), and eptifibatide (Integrillin). Accumetrics designed the desktop unit for use by doctors in clinics and medical offices. Because patient response varies widely, the test gives doctors a quick way of assessing whether the dosage they’ve prescribed is working as intended. This matters because if an anti-clotting drug is a little too effective, and makes the blood too thin, it can cause certain patients to suffer bleeding episodes.
In the company’s statement, CEO Timothy Still says the closure of the fifth round of financing demonstrates the venture firms’ “unwavering confidence” in Accumetrics. He adds, “We are excited to be positioned at the forefront of a major market shift in the healthcare sector where medical diagnostics will play a greater role in personalizing patient treatment.”
Accumetrics says proceeds from the financing will be used to help pay for development of next-generation technology, clear regulatory hurdles, and continue its expansion of global commercialization efforts.