Inoveon
Closes $16 Million Round of Financing
Funds
to be used to enhance marketing efforts and accelerate
opening of diabetic retinopathy patient service centers in
new markets
Embargoed
until : July 30, 2002
Media Contact: Investor Contact: Bill
Hagstrom, CEO | 1.405.271.9025 | bill-hagstrom@inoveon.com
OKLAHOMA CITY [July 30, 2002] - Inoveon Corporation, a medical services company specializing in detecting, staging and monitoring diseases of the eye, announced today the company has closed a $16 million Preferred Series B round of venture capital financing. The round was led by CenterPoint Ventures of Dallas, with co-investments by Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis; Massey Burch Ventures, Nashville; Chisholm Private Capital Partners, Oklahoma City; and Prolog Ventures of St. Louis. Additional participants included Oklahoma Life Sciences Fund, STARTech Seed Fund, Technology Directors and the Enterprise Oklahoma Venture Fund.
"This financing is a critical endorsement of our business model, proprietary technology platform and ability to become a market leader in this important healthcare segment," says Bill Hagstrom, Inoveon Chairman and CEO. "The closing of the B round will allow us to rapidly scale-up marketing activities, accelerate deployment of new sites and continue investments in our operations infrastructure."
Inoveon has developed a patented, highly accurate digital evaluation service for diabetic retinopathy called 3DT, that offers a less expensive, more efficient solution for primary care physicians to detect, track and manage patients with diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of adult blindness. The service allows diabetic patients to access a safe, non-invasive retinal scan at a local Inoveon Patient Service Center. These images are then transmitted to the Inoveon Evaluation Center. The images are analyzed and a comprehensive report with a disease management plan is sent back to the primary care physician within 48 hours.
Several independent studies state 96 percent of diabetic patients make it to the primary care environment at least once a year, yet only 45 percent make it to an eye care specialist for a diabetic retinal exam. Because early onset of diabetic retinopathy is asymptomatic, patients often do not recognize the need for an exam.
"For nearly 80 years, Lilly has been dedicated to improving the lives of people with diabetes. Despite improvements in glycemic and blood pressure control, diabetic retinopathy is still the leading cause of new cases of blindness among working-age people in the United States," says Jim Harper, Group Vice President, Global Marketing and Sales at Eli Lilly, who will join the Inoveon Board of Directors. "Early detection of diabetic eye disease in collaboration with ophthalmologists is essential in preventing vision loss."
Inoveon 3DT technology produces images in seven areas of each eye offering a superior method of evaluating diabetic retinopathy formerly available only in research studies. Inoveon use of this gold standard technique defined by National Institutes of Health research protocols delivers unparalleled accuracy in a clinical setting. In March 2002, the peer-review publication Ophthalmology published the findings of an independent clinical validation study of the 3DT technology, which achieved 98.3 percent sensitivity and 89.7 percent specificity for detection of vision threatening disease.
"Inoveon has identified a large market with significant unmet clinical needs," says David Schaller of CenterPoint Ventures. "The company's patented technology base, clinical performance, seasoned management team and market penetration strategy made for a compelling investment opportunity."
According to Hagstrom the company's long-term strategy targets additional diseases of the eye including macular degeneration and glaucoma. Headquartered in the Oklahoma Health Center Research Park the company currently has 35 employees and expects to double its workforce in the next 12 months.
Founded in 1997, Inoveon's mission is to deliver high quality, comprehensive, services to detect, stage and monitor diseases of the eye including diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma and others. Its patented 3DT imaging technology and iScore" Diabetes Eye Evaluation Service improve the quality, economics, and medical outcomes of patients with diabetic retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes, and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States. To learn more about Inoveon, please visit www.inoveon.com.
- Related
file: Ophthalmology
(March 2002) NIH
Gold Standard Validation Study of Inoveon 3DT Technology
(96k PDF)