News
October 27, 2011
iThera Medical Receives Funding for Translating its Unique Imaging Technology into Clinical Practice
27 October 2011, Munich, Germany – iThera Medical, a spin-off from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, has recently closed a Series A financing round with BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, and Mey Capital Matrix GmbH, a Munich-based family office, as lead investor. Earlier this year, the company also secured a Phase II grant from the GO-Bio programme, which is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and managed by Projektträger Jülich. iThera Medical will use the funds to further develop and commercialize its technology for preclinical and clinical applications.
iThera Medical builds on a unique multispectral optoacoustic imaging technology invented by Prof. Dr Vasilis Ntziachristos and Dr Daniel Razansky at the Helmholtz Zentrum München. It enables the non-invasive, real-time visualization of anatomical, functional and molecular information in living tissue, at depths and at a resolution not achievable by optical imaging methods. The key advantage of the technology over other imaging modalities is its unique combination of highly versatile optical contrast, cross-sectional tissue imaging, and high temporal and spatial resolution.
In the space of one and a half years, iThera Medical has made significant progress in product development. The company expects its first product, a preclinical molecular imaging device, to reach the market in the near future. Using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), small animals are precisely scanned in vivo and in real time. For the first time, the biological effects of a drug can be monitored quantitatively at its site of action in the body over a longer period of time. This not only improves the quality of preclinical drug development dramatically, but also reduces the duration and costs of biopharmaceutical drug development.
“We see great potential for iThera Medical’s optoacoustic imaging technology in preclinical research and clinical diagnostics. Their unique technical advantage, together with competent management and an established partnership with the Helmholtz Zentrum München, has convinced us of the attractiveness of this project,” explains Peter Pauli, CEO of the BayBG Bayerischen Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Munich, commenting on the decision to invest. In order to fully exploit the technology’s potential for many applications, iThera Medical has built a strong network of collaboration partners in industry, academia and hospitals around the globe.
“Our approach has met with an exceptional demand,” says Christian Wiest, co-founder and CEO of iThera Medical. “Together with our partners, we are currently exploring potential applications in preclinical research and clinical diagnostics, for example in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.”
INOVIS Capital acted as an exclusive Corporate Finance adviser in this transaction.
Contact for INOVIS Capital
Christian Wexlberger, CEO
T: +49 (0)89 452 352-116, E: wexlberger@inoviscapital.de
INOVIS Capital GmbH, Karlstraße 35, 80333 Munich, Germany
Contact for iThera Medical
Christian Wiest, CEO
T: +49 (0)89 318-3973, E: christian.wiest@ithera-medical.com
iThera Medical GmbH, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
October 22, 2010
Textbroker Receives Initial Growth Financing to Accelerate International Expansion
Mainz, Germany, October 22, 2010 – Sario Marketing GmbH, the company behind the leading internet platform for unique on-demand content, Textbroker.com, today announced the successful completion of a multi-million Euro growth financing round through funds advised by ViewPoint Capital Partners. The financing proceeds will be used to support the fast growth in existing markets as well as expansion into new markets within and beyond Europe.
Since the first launch of the platform in 2005, Textbroker has rapidly gained the attention of publishers and writers alike. As of today, more than 100,000 registered freelance authors offer their writing services to a broad international customer base ranging from small marketing agencies and affiliate web sites to large internet platforms and international news and publishing corporations. Textbroker is accessible either via the web site or through an API, allowing large-volume clients to easily integrate the service directly within their operational system environment. With the Internet becoming the primary source of information in all areas of everyday life, the demand for updated unique content has heavily increased during recent years. As a result, Textbroker’s service has experienced tremendous continuous growth and is now aiming to offer its service in new territories.
“Our innovative content creation platform gives publishers and web site owners an efficient way to have content written and published, resulting in high demand and rapid growth. I’m excited that we could gain such a strong partner for our company. Besides the capital investment, ViewPoint’s management experience and strong insight into the tech industry will help us develop past the start-up phase into long-term expansion,” said Jan Becker-Fochler, founder and CEO of Sario Marketing GmbH.
“We have been watching the developments within the market for unique multimedia content for quite a while and were impressed by its strong growth dynamics. Textbroker is one of the most advanced and fastest growing services in this space and the number one player in the textual content segment. We see the company’s potential for accelerated growth, especially in the English language area, and thus support the further extension of its services with additional funding and operational support,“ adds Christian Janson-Euterneck, Partner of ViewPoint Capital Partners, which arranged the financing round.
The two companies were brought together by INOVIS Capital, represented by Managing Director Christian Wexlberger.
About Textbroker
Textbroker is the leading internet platform for on-demand, unique written content. The service is a marketplace for more than 130,000 authors and buyers of unique articles. Textbroker is offered in Germany and the US and will expand to France shortly. Overall, the platform delivers tens of thousands of items per month to its client base.
About ViewPoint Capital Partners
Viewpoint Capital Partners is a specialized European private equity firm solely focused on commercially successful software & internet technology companies, with a clear value proposition and revenues ranging from €3m to over €30m. With funds of €200 million under management, ViewPoint provides capital for growth & international expansion, shareholder liquidity, buy-outs and acquisitions. Investors in the funds advised by ViewPoint include European banking corporations, international funds-of-funds, asset managers, pension funds and insurance companies as well as selected private individuals.
About INOVIS Capital
INOVIS Capital is an independent corporate finance consultancy specialising in the venture capital market and offering consulting and investment services in this field.
INOVIS Capital typically assists high-tech companies in raising capital, or considers the possibility of an investment itself through one of the private investor funds managed by INOVIS Capital.
Contact:
Jan Becker-Fochler, Sario Marketing GmbH
+49-6131-32-72-00
jbf@textbroker.com
http://www.textbroker.de
Christine Guttmann, ViewPoint Capital Partners GmbH
+49-69-71-91-80-84
cg@viewpointpartners.com
http://www.viewpointpartners.com
Christian Wexlberger, INOVIS Capital GmbH
+49-89-452-352-116
Wexlberger@inoviscapital.de
http://www.inoviscapital.com