Definiens closes €15M financing round to expand into digital tissue diagnostics

Jun 23 2014

Definiens AG, which offers a unique approach to tissue diagnostics aimed at helping physicians improve treatment, said that it has closed a round of financing for € 15 million. The round was led by Wellington Partners, a leading pan-European venture capital firm. Gilde Healthcare co-led the financing round and was joined by other existing investors Cipio Partners and TVM Capital in the financing. In conjunction with the financing, Dr. Rainer Strohmenger, General Partner and Managing Director for Wellington, will join Definiens' Board of Directors.

The new funds will allow Definiens to grow its global business in digital pathology image analysis and expand into digital tissue diagnostics. Major investments will be made in executing the company's Tissue Phenomics strategy, enabling partnerships with leading medical centers and pharmaceutical companies to advance the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Tissue Phenomics is based on Definiens' proprietary Cognition Network Technology®, invented by Nobel laureate and founder Prof. Gerd Binnig and involves a unique big data approach to develop new tissue-based diagnostic tests for oncology and immunotherapy. Using these new diagnostic tests will allow for better prediction of patient outcomes and identification of drug responders, thereby bridging the gap between genomic data and cancer outcomes.

Dr. Rainer Strohmenger, General Partner and Managing Director at Wellington Partners, commented, "We have been following Definiens for many years and have always been impressed by the visionary concept and exciting technology the company has. We believe that Definiens now is approaching an inflection point which will have a significant impact on the growth potential and strategic value of this business for the leading players in imaging, diagnostics and oncology drug development."

Thomas Heydler, CEO at Definiens, stated, "Wellington Partners is one of the few investors experienced in both diagnostics and healthcare IT with a strong track record of successfully building and capturing value from businesses in these areas. We are honored to add Wellington to our investor base and welcome Dr. Strohmenger to our Board of Directors. This financing will allow us to pursue our aggressive growth strategy to further expand our global leadership in Tissue Phenomics."

Dr. Gerald Möller, Chairman at Definiens AG, added, "The use of state-of-the-art information technology in medicine will dramatically improve the way patients will be diagnosed and treated and the way new drugs and diagnostic tests will be developed. This change will not only lead to improved patient outcomes but also drive personalized medicine forward, and I am convinced that Definiens will play an important role in accelerating this change, especially in the fields of pathology, cancer, and immunotherapy. The fact that we have attracted this significant financing with new lead investor Wellington is another confirmation of Definiens' strong position."