Damae Medical, a medtech company developing optical imaging medical devices and AI software platform to help dermatologists manage their patients, has closed a €5 million Series A financing round.
Advised by Klever Invest, the round was led by BNP Paribas Développement and followed by the historical investors Kurma Partners and Paris Saclay Seed Fund.
Anaïs Barut, co-founder and CEO of Damae Medical said: “The primary ambition of Damae Medical and our deepLive medical device is to revolutionise the management of skin cancers. This is what we have achieved by collaborating with the best academic hospitals around the world. The financial resources offered by this second round of financing of €5 million will enable us to accelerate the commercial deployment of deepLive in Europe and to push the development of our product even further. Our goal is simple: to provide dermatologists with the information they need to manage patients early, efficiently, and non-invasively. We will also collaborate with more and more centres to position our artificial intelligence (AI) tools as routine companions for dermatologists to facilitate and accelerate diagnosis. Skin cancers affect more than 5 million people worldwide each year and patient prognosis continues to be highly dependent on the timing of diagnosis."
Development of new functionalities
The closing of this round of financing will enable further investments in the optical field and in the cloud and AI solutions. The company is working to improve imaging capabilities by providing new features and diversifying the clinical indications addressable with deepLive. In parallel, the development of web applications will open the possibilities of telemedicine and teledermatology. Damae Medical will develop, in close collaboration with dermatologists, AI solutions to improve the detection and visualisation of skin structures in 3D, but also to help in the diagnosis of skin cancers.
Professor Jean-Luc Perrot, head of the dermatology department at the University Hospital of Saint-Etienne explained: "I use deepLive in clinical routine on many lesions: melanoma, carcinoma, actinic keratosis, inflammatory disease, skin ageing characterisation, etc. The imaging probe provides unique 3D images of the different layers of the skin at the cellular level. This makes it possible to diagnose in real time without the need for biopsy, to initiate treatment and to monitor its effectiveness which is particularly useful during non-surgical treatment. Also, deepLive makes it possible to define the spread of the pathology before surgery to avoid reoperations and reduce the risk of recurrence. Since its creation, the Damae Medical team has distinguished itself by its uncommon capacity and speed of innovation as well as its exceptional customer service."
International expansion
The company intends to accelerate its commercial development in Europe, with major efforts in France, Germany, and Italy where traction has been strong since the commercial launch in 2020. In parallel, medico-economic impact studies will assess the cost-effectiveness benefit of the deepLive solution.
Outside Europe, Damae Medical will continue its international deployment by preparing the ground for the American and Australian markets through its clinical studies already underway. The funds invested will be used to structure and strengthen the teams by seeking the most competent profiles to meet the challenges ahead.
Sophie Pierrin Lepinard, investment director of BNP Paribas Développement, added: "We are delighted to join the Damae Medical team to support its growth. Damae Medical has clearly demonstrated its ability to transform cutting-edge innovations into high value-added products that are industrially mature and deployable worldwide. Thanks to its strong applicative and economic potential, deepLive has established itself with renowned hospitals and clinics, dermatologists in private practice and with leading cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies. Over the past three years, the company's sales have doubled every year. More than 30 devices have already been installed. The commercial acceleration is expected to double the installed base in 2022 and multiply it by five in 2024. Damae is a great illustration of the digital health investment strategy we started four years ago."
Philippe Peltier, managing partner of Kurma Partners, added: "Based on its innovative medical device, Damae Medical is developing a set of AI solutions to simplify, streamline and standardise the diagnosis of dermatological pathologies but also the monitoring of the effectiveness of treatments, whether surgical or not. The complete deepLive solution provides the dermatologist with new state-of-the-art intelligence tools for efficient, accurate and non-invasive patient management. As proof, the company has already sold its devices in more than 10 countries, in Europe, the United States but also in Japan. We are very proud to continue our support of Damae Medical, which began in 2017 with its first round of financing, and we are extremely confident in its ability to take strong positions in a market estimated at $2.3 billion, including Europe, the United States and Australia alone."
