Israeli biotech company MeMed, which developed a diagnostic device that distinguishes between viral or bacterial infections within 15 minutes, announced today (Monday) a $ 93 million round of funding.
The current round brings the total funding the company has received to about $220 million, including government grants from the United States and the European Union.
The company’s technology platform, MeMed Key, can measure rare protein levels among lots of other proteins. “If we try to compare it to something we are all familiar with, it would be like trying to find ten Skittles candies on a football field full of M&M candies in 15 minutes. This is possible because of the unique technology we have developed,” Aden told “Globes” in the past.
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The company, which was founded in 2009 by CEO Eran Aden and chairman Kfir Oved, received approval from the FDA in September 2021 after it has already received regulatory approvals in Israel and Europe in 2020.
MeMed did not disclose the valuation of its Series E round but indicated that it had increased dramatically since its last round.
Earlier this year, co-founder Dr. Kfir Oved interviewed for Globes about the company’s beginnings which started within Dr. Oved’s family. A decade ago, his eldest daughter Yarden was then 8 years old when she was hospitalized with a severe gastrointestinal infection. It was not clear if it was caused by a bacterium or virus. “She had an infection, and she did not look so good,” recalls Oved.
“It was decided to hospitalize her and start antibiotic treatment against a particular bacterium that causes severe intestinal infections. The instinct is almost always an over-treatment of antibiotics. That treatment comes at a price.”
“I decided to do our test for her. And when it showed it was a viral disease, it allowed us to take her home after two and a half days to recover without getting any more unnecessary antibiotics. The hospital lab results, which confirmed it was a virus, came only after a week.”
The latest financing round brings new investors including Horizons Ventures, Union Tech Ventures, Social Capital, La Maison Partners, Shavit Capital, Touchwood Capital, ClaI Insurance, Caesarea Medical Holdings, Phoenix Insurance, Western Technology Investment, and Poalim Equity.
MeMed employs 100 workers throughout Europe, and the United States, with the majority based in Haifa, Israel.
In 2022 recruitments are predicted to bring a 40% expansion in the workforce. The initial product will be marketed in the United States by a sales team acting on behalf of the corporation (rather than through a distributor). Over twenty salespeople have been recruited in Boston to date, including a vice president of marketing.
The company is not considering appointing an American CEO or a CEO for its American operations, but the current management will continue to run the business from Israel.
