Research venture spun off from Oxford University secures $55 million funding for expediting heart failure diagnosis
In a significant development for the healthcare industry, Ultromics, a UK-based company specialising in AI-powered diagnostic technology, has raised $55 million in a Series C funding round. The investment, led by Lightrock, L&G, and Allegis Capital, aims to scale the deployment of Ultromics' technology in hospitals and echocardiography labs nationwide.
Ultromics' flagship product, the EchoGo platform, was developed in partnership with the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and Mayo Clinic. This innovative technology analyses standard echocardiograms to detect subtle and early signs of complex, often undiagnosed heart conditions like heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and cardiac amyloidosis. The platform does not require new hardware, making it easy to integrate into existing clinical workflows.
The funding will be used to implement a strategic expansion plan, which includes broadening the commercial footprint across US health systems, increasing adoption in echo labs seeing high volumes of at-risk patients, enhancing the product pipeline, and capitalising on Medicare reimbursement for the technology.
Partnerships with renowned institutions such as Mayo Clinic, University of Chicago Medicine, Northwestern Medicine, and UPMC Enterprises are part of this strategy. The aim is to bring the technology to hospitals and echo labs that see the highest volumes of at-risk patients, addressing a significant diagnostic gap where up to 64% of HFpEF cases remain undiagnosed.
The potential impacts of this technology are promising. Earlier and more accurate identification of elusive heart conditions could lead to timely interventions, reducing hospitalizations and improving patient outcomes by targeting diseases before symptoms worsen. The reduction in misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis rates for heart failure subtypes would address a significant unmet clinical need in cardiology.
Cost savings for healthcare systems are another potential benefit. By leveraging existing echocardiograms with AI to detect hidden disease signals, expensive new tests or equipment may not be necessary. The technology also empowers clinicians with real-time probability scores integrated into workflows, facilitating more precise risk stratification and management decisions.
In the long term, the technology may transform cardiovascular disease management by enabling precision diagnostics at scale, impacting millions of patients and potentially lowering long-term treatment costs through early detection.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), and SEB have provided €84.8m in loans for solar projects in Latvia. The investment falls under the categories of Agri-food, Blended finance, and Startup/Scale-up.
Elsewhere, Export Finance Australia has provided a $100m loan to the East Africa Agriculture and Food Fund (EAAIF). The loans are categorized under Climate & environment, Energy transition, EU funding, and Infrastructure.
[1] Ultromics Press Release, "Ultromics Secures $55 Million Series C Funding to Scale AI-Powered Heart Disease Diagnostic Technology Across the US and Beyond", 2022. [2] Mayo Clinic, "Ultromics and Mayo Clinic Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop AI-Powered Heart Disease Diagnostic Technology", 2020. [3] Ultromics, "Ultromics' EchoGo AI-Powered Platform: Transforming Heart Disease Diagnosis", 2021. [4] Ultromics, "Ultromics' AI-Powered Platform Outperforms Current Clinical Risk Scores in Detecting Cardiac Amyloidosis", 2021. [5] Ultromics, "Ultromics' AI-Powered Platform Improves Detection of HFpEF by 73.6%", 2021.
- The Series C funding raised by Ultromics, worth $55 million, will not only accelerate the deployment of their AI-powered diagnostic technology in hospitals and echocardiography labs, but also aid in the expansion of their product pipeline and exploration of venture capital opportunities for the energy transition in health-and-wellness, particularly cardiovascular health.
- As part of their strategic plan, Ultromics aims to partner with renowned institutions like Mayo Clinic to bring their technology to hospitals and echo labs seeing high volumes of at-risk patients, which could potentially address a significant diagnostic gap in detecting heart conditions such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), cardiac amyloidosis, and other medical-conditions.
- Simultaneously, European development banks are investing in renewable energy projects and infrastructure, such as solar projects in Latvia and climate-related ventures in East Africa; these investments span different sectors, including Agri-food, Blended finance, Energy transition, and Infrastructure, aligning with the global push for science-backed solutions to tackle climate change and improve overall health and wellness.
