Heart disease diagnostics firm receives $30m investment

Swiss-based Swisscanto Invest and Danish investors ATP and BankInvest are the main investors injecting nearly $30 million into MedTrace, a company specialising in the diagnosis of heart diseases. 

The fresh capital aims to help the company expand into the USA as well as the establishment of a new business area within cancer diagnostics.

Danish company MedTrace has developed a fully automated technology that makes radioactive water clinically available to patients in need of diagnostic heart imaging. Radioactive water (¹⁵O-water), currently used on occasion for various types of scans, will now be produced inside the scanning room itself. This will allow hospitals to scan more patients with radioactive water in a shorter amount of time. The niche technology represents an estimated global market potential of DKK 6 billion for heart patients alone.

With investors such as Swisscanto Invest, ATP, and BankInvest onboard, MedTrace can now accelerate its European and American expansion plans. The investment equivalent of nearly $30 million will, among other things, pave the way for clinical studies in the USA and move the company closer to an initial public offering.

Martin Stenfeldt, CEO of MedTrace, said: “I am absolutely delighted and proud to have got such a strong combination of investors into MedTrace. The investment is an official stamp for our technology and business model while also guaranteeing that we can now expand. We can start our clinical studies in the USA and begin scaling up our European business.”

To date, the company has focused primarily on cardiology – diagnosing heart conditions – but the technology and knowhow from MedTrace can potentially improve diagnostics and treatment for cancer patients. The combination of a strong position in cardiology and a promising potential in cancer diagnostics prompted Swisscanto Invest to step up as a lead investor.

Dr Robert Schier, investment director at Swisscanto Invest, said: “MedTrace has considerable commercial potential with its technology and products boosting innovation of the medical tracer ¹⁵O-water and lifting up the quality of heart disease diagnostics to a new level. With its first products in cardiology already in clinical use the application in oncology seems to be a natural next step with an enormous market potential. We are pleased to be investing in this future development as part of a consortium of strong investors with shared ambitions and aspirations for the company.”

Danish-based ATP sees the investment as an opportunity to create a high return while generating growth and jobs in Denmark.

Claus Berner Møller, vice president, Danish equities at ATP, said: “We are looking for investment opportunities in all links of the financial food chain here in Denmark and see MedTrace as a high-tech Danish company with great growth potential both geographically and on the product side. We hope, long term, to be able to pave the way for an IPO for MedTrace in Denmark.”

Stefan Ingildsen, senior portfolio manager at BankInvest, added: “With its technologies and products, MedTrace has managed to make O-water much more accessible as a tracer in scans. This provides a significant boost in both the quality and economy of heart disease scans to the great benefit of patients and the healthcare system. The next step is to spread the technology to cancer scans that will expand the potential massively. At BankInvest Small Cap Danske Aktier, we look forward to the upcoming journey with MedTrace, during which a listing can very well become a reality within a few years.”

With the capital raised, MedTrace can mature the technology towards a clinical solution for cancer diagnostics. The goal is to differentiate hypoxic tumours – tumours with poor blood supply – from regular tumours through routine cancer screening. Patients with hypoxic tumours generally respond poorly to chemo- and radiation therapy, resulting in higher mortality. Successful treatment therefore relies on differentiating hypoxic and regular tumours early in the process.

Stenfeldt added: “Our technology is already in clinical use within cardiology, and we have proof of concept that the technology also works within oncology, but we have lacked the capacity or funding to explore the area. We have that now. The investment opens new diagnostic opportunities and business areas with tracer ¹⁵O-water. We are already working on a pilot project in the USA, and that work will now accelerate rapidly and expand to other markets and more cancer types.”