WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that it has led a $7 million Series A financing for Medivo, Inc., a New York-based healthcare IT company that provides data analytics and lab testing services that empower and enable patients and physicians to improve health. Medivo has a convenient online, HIPAA-compliant platform which connects patients to a nationwide network of physicians, lab service centers and home testing services. The financing will support product development and expansion of sales and marketing.
“Recently we announced the combination of our life sciences and technology deal teams to better leverage and take advantage of the synergies between these two industries,” said Peter J. Boni, President and CEO of Safeguard. “On the heels of that announcement, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Medivo, an exciting new opportunity that represents a convergence of diagnostic testing and healthcare IT, as well as the consumerization of healthcare using the power of the Internet. We believe that Medivo is well-positioned for growth as it leverages our strategic growth drivers—Maturity, Migration, Convergence, Compliance and Cost Containment.”
From cholesterol tests to cancer diagnostics and emerging genetic tests, laboratory testing is a critical component of healthcare. Physicians rely heavily on laboratory test results and interpretations to make critical decisions that govern patient diagnosis and treatment and dictate resource utilization. While laboratory costs make up 2-3 percent of overall healthcare costs, laboratory services affect 70 percent of all critical clinical decisions, such as admission, discharge and drug therapy. In response to increasing demand, the number of labs expanded greatly over the past several decades. The lab testing industry in the United States is a more than $50 billion market which is expected to double by 2020. Medivo is well positioned to capitalize on these trends by identifying gaps in care and providing convenient access to testing services.
“Medivo’s platform—which includes a national network of clinicians, IT and compliance—improves and increases access to lab testing, identifies patients who need testing and assists them to get those tests, educates patients about those results, and relays information to primary care physicians,” said Gary J. Kurtzman, MD, Managing Director in the Life Sciences Group at Safeguard, who will be joining Medivo’s Board of Directors. “Led by a proven, serial entrepreneur—Sundeep Bhan—we believe that Medivo is a game-changer that will allow physicians and patients to make more efficient use of diagnostic testing and become better consumers of healthcare.”
Employing Medivo’s services, patients and physicians can now improve the quality of their interactions resulting in healthier outcomes. Medivo enables physicians to provide better care through PatientPath™ services that identify gaps in patient lab testing and treatment, enable testing and provide fast and convenient access to a network of thousands of labs. For patients, Medivo enables them to better manage their health with access to testing and monitoring services that aid in managing their testing needs, explain lab results so patients have more meaningful interactions with their doctors and provide patient education information.
“At Medivo, our mission is to save lives through faster and easier access to quality healthcare,” said Sundeep Bhan, Co-Founder and CEO of Medivo. “In order to realize this vision, it’s critical to have the right financial and operational partner. With Safeguard’s successful track record and deep connections within managed care organizations and the pharmaceutical industry, we believe that Safeguard will help us grow our business.”
About Safeguard Scientifics
Founded in 1953 and based in Wayne, PA, Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) provides growth capital for entrepreneurial and innovative life sciences and technology companies. Safeguard targets life sciences companies in Molecular and Point-of-Care Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Regenerative Medicine, Specialty Pharmaceuticals and selected healthcare services, and technology companies in Internet / New Media, Financial Services IT, Healthcare IT and selected business services with capital requirements of up to $25 million. Safeguard participates in expansion financings, corporate spin-outs, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and early-stage financings. For more information, please visit our website at www.safeguard.com, our blog at blog.safeguard.com, download our web app at app.safeguard.com, or you can follow us on Twitter (twitter.safeguard.com), LinkedIn (linked.safeguard.com) or YouTube (youtube.safeguard.com).
About Medivo
Medivo, Inc., a New York-based healthcare IT company, provides access to virtual healthcare services when and where they're needed to help individuals, organizations, and clinicians better manage their own, their members' and their patients' health. Medivo’s services include data analytics and lab testing services that empower and enable patients and physicians to improve health. Medivo has a convenient online, HIPAA-compliant platform which connects patients to a nationwide network of physicians, lab service centers and home testing services. Employing Medivo’s services, patients and physicians can improve the quality of their interactions resulting in healthier outcomes. For more information, visit our website at www.medivo.com
Forward-looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, include, among others, managing rapidly changing technologies, limited access to capital, competition, the ability to attract and retain qualified employees, the ability to execute our strategy, the uncertainty of the future performance of our companies, acquisitions and dispositions of companies, the inability to manage growth, compliance with government regulations and legal liabilities, additional financing requirements, the effect of economic conditions in the business sectors in which our companies operate, and other uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to predict or control. In addition, as a result of these and other factors, our past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information contained in this news release.