icometrix raises over € 2M to boost the use of its clinical SaaS product MSmetrix

icometrix develops and markets MSmetrix, which is SaaS software to support radiologists and neurologists in the follow-up of Multiple Sclerosis patients. The company raised over €2 million additional capital. Investors include Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Annie Vereecken (Biover II), former Cartagenia (now part of Agilent Technologies) CEO Herman Verrelst, and current shareholders, such as the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven and the Antwerp University Hospital. The proceeds will be invested to reach icometrix’ ambitious targets for 2016: increasing the use of MSmetrix worldwide, capacitating its branch office in the US, addressing new disease domains, and expanding their business in clinical trials and research studies. Other plans for 2016 include growing the icometrix sales force and development team and moving into a new office.

“By providing clinicians with standardized measurements on their patients’ brain MRI scans, icometrix improves personalized care of patients with a neurological disorder. Since its launch in March 2015 our product, MSmetrix, has helped more than 2000 patients in over 200 centers and 45 countries,” says Dirk Loeckx, CEO.

MSmetrix was developed for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. It provides access to reliable measurements on the two main manifestations of MS in the brain, of which small but very significant changes are very difficult to see to the naked eye. Numbers on changes of lesion load and of brain volume over time are represented in an easy online report. The reproducibility of the method is 0.1%, which is lower than the expected brain volume changes for MS patients. The automated measurements by icometrix provide a new piece to the puzzle of personalized patient treatment, complementary to the clinical investigation and radiological report.

Katrin Geyskens, Partner at Capricorn Venture Partners, sees a bright future for icometrix: “Digital healthcare is one of the fastest growing markets worldwide. It promises to increase the quality of life and reduce the cost of healthcare. icometrix has shown they can tailor their products to the needs of patients and doctors, in close collaboration with the different actors in the field. There is a lot of growth potential for icometrix, and their team has the capabilities to live up to it.”

About icometrix

icometrix was founded in 2011 by Dirk Loeckx and Wim Van Hecke. It is a spin-off company of the universities and university hospitals of Leuven and Antwerp. Today, icometrix has grown to a team of over 25 people and is internationally active, with headquarters in Leuven and an office in Boston, USA. They are the worldwide standard in MRI biomarkers in routine clinical practice. Their clinical product, MSmetrix, received market approval in the EU and other countries including Canada, Brazil and Australia. FDA clearance is pending. Furthermore, icometrix is ISO9001 and ISO13485 (Medical Devices) and ISO27001 (Information Security) certified. icometrix also acts as an image analysis expert in clinical trials and research studies. Imaging biomarkers constantly lead to new insights on neurological disorders. Since recently, imaging biomarker outcomes often serve as the primary endpoints in clinical trials for the development of new drugs.  For these purposes large batches of brain imaging data are frequently transferred to icometrix for fast and high quality processing.

About Capricorn Venture Partners

Capricorn Venture Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European companies with technology as competitive advantage. The investment team of Capricorn is composed of experienced investment managers with deep technology expertise and a broad industrial experience. Capricorn Venture Partners is investing out of the venture capital funds Capricorn Cleantech Fund, Capricorn Health‐tech Fund and Capricorn ICT Fund. In addition it is the asset manager of Quest for Growth, quoted on NYSE Euronext Brussels, and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund, sub‐fund of Quest Management SICAV.

For more information

Anke Maertens, Marketing Manager
Anke.Maertens@icometrix.com
+32 499 105 856
www.icometrix.com

Tervuursesteenweg 244
B-3001 Leuven
+32 16 369 000