DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Delphinus Medical Technologies, Inc. today announced the closing of a $30 million Series D financing to fuel worldwide commercialization of its
SoftVue™ 3D Whole Breast Ultrasound Tomography System (SoftVue™). The round drew participation from both new and existing investors, including Arboretum Ventures, Beringea, North Coast Technology Investors, Venture Investors, Hopen Life Science Ventures and Waycross Ventures. The fund’s closing comes on the heels of the announcement that the first SoftVue System was sold, and will go to Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, where the technology was originally conceived.
“Every day it becomes increasingly obvious that we have delivered a game changer technology to transform dense breast screening,” said Mark J. Forchette, president and CEO of Delphinus Medical Technologies. “When potential customers hear that SoftVue finds more cancers, delivers an exceptional patient experience and efficient patient workflow the same day as the mammogram without costly staff additions, they recognize the value for their patients. Our series D will support the robust commercial strategies and efforts needed to help sites quickly adopt this solution for their patients.”
Forty percent of women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue, and they have a four-to-six-time greater risk of developing breast cancer. Mammography alone misses about half the cancers in women with dense breasts, as dense tissue and cancer both appear white on mammogram images. SoftVue was developed to address this unmet clinical need and provides a new annual screening solution for this historically underserved population.
SoftVue is indicated for use as an adjunct to digital mammography in the screening of asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue. SoftVue enhances dense breast screening and identifies up to 20% more cancers with greater accuracy and potentially fewer biopsies than full field digital mammography (FFDM) alone. The SoftVue exam is completed with no compression or radiation, and its PMA indication for use allows SoftVue exams to be performed at the same appointment as screening mammograms, facilitating a streamlined workflow and rapid delivery of results.
“Our board of directors and investors are very excited to launch into commercial activities with SoftVue,” said Paul McCreadie, Delphinus Medical Technology’s board chairman and Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Arboretum Ventures. “The successful completion of a rigorous clinical study that resulted in the PMA approval we received last year for dense breast screening will allow the Delphinus team to leverage the unique technology of SoftVue to change the paradigm for dense breast screening and help millions of women receive superior care. We invest to allow breakthrough innovations to serve patients, and Delphinus is perfectly poised to do exactly that.”
About Delphinus Medical Technologies, Inc.
Headquartered in Novi, Mich., Delphinus Medical Technologies, Inc. is a pioneering medical imaging company that has developed SoftVue™, featuring the first circular array transducer technology. The patented technology is a 3D whole breast ultrasound tomography system that delivers no radiation, requires no compression, and images the entire breast with a single scan.
SoftVue™ has previously received three 510(k)s, and the PMA approval for dense breast screening adjunct to mammography expands the company’s existing platform of approvals to include breast cancer screening in asymptomatic women with dense breast parenchyma after confirmation that the breast density composition is BI-RADS c or d at the time of screening mammography. The device is not intended to be used as a replacement for screening mammography. SoftVue can be used at the same visit as screening mammography, and the SoftVue images are intended to be interpreted with the mammogram results to enhance screening.
Delphinus was founded as a spin out of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit and is capitalized through principal investments by Arboretum Ventures, Ann Arbor, Mich., Beringea, Farmington Hills, Mich., State of Michigan Retirement System, North Coast Technology Investors, Ann Arbor, Mich., Venture Investors, Madison, Wis., Hopen Life Science Ventures, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Waycross Ventures, Menlo Park, Calif. For more information, visit www.delphinusmt.com.
