Oxford Science Enterprises led a $16 million investment round for Caristo Diagnostics, which was also participated in by various institutional investors.
Caristo Diagnostics Limited, a prominent figure in diagnosing and predicting risks for cardiac and vascular diseases, revealed that it has raised an additional £13 million (US$16.3 million) to finalize its Series A funding round. The company plans to utilize the funds to propel its CaRi-Heart® technology, an AI-supported tool for diagnostics and predicting risks, into becoming a benchmark in the cardiac care industry across major international markets.
The financing was spearheaded by Oxford Science Enterprises and backed by BGF, Longwall Venture Partners, Oxford Investment Consultants LLP, Oxford University, and other investors.
Oran Muduroglu, Chairman of the Board at Caristo Diagnostics, expressed his excitement about the success of the financing round, which saw participation from five reputable institutional investors. The support of these investors serves as validation of Caristo’s innovations and their immense clinical and business potential. Additionally, Caristo Diagnostics is pleased to welcome Frank Cheng as the new CEO. Cheng brings two decades of experience leading digital health companies, most recently serving as President & CCO of Eyenuk, Inc. Eyenuk is a diagnostic company that uses autonomous AI technology and has received FDA clearance, Medicare reimbursement, and support from a new Category 1 CPT code. The technology has been adopted in eighteen countries. Caristo’s portfolio of novel technologies, outstanding clinical results, and experienced management team makes it well-positioned to revolutionize healthcare worldwide.
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Heather Roxborough, Caristo Diagnostics Board Member and Head of HealthTech at Oxford Science Enterprises, explained that the company invests in businesses with the potential to revolutionize healthcare and become global category leaders. She expressed her pride in backing Caristo’s exceptional team and their innovative technology, which helps healthcare professionals predict and prevent future heart attacks, ultimately saving millions of lives worldwide. Roxborough is thrilled to continue being part of Caristo’s journey.
Each year, an estimated 17.9 million lives are lost globally due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), making it the leading cause of death. Caristo Diagnostics is committed to changing this grim statistic by providing its cutting-edge coronary disease diagnostic technology. The AI algorithms of CaRi-Heart enable trained health professionals to measure coronary inflammation using Caristo’s Fat Attenuation Index (FAI) technology from routine cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) scans. This FAI Score determines the risk of cardiac mortality resulting from coronary inflammation. Additionally, CaRi-Heart integrates coronary inflammation with standard clinic risk factors and the presence of coronary plaques to provide a long-term cardiac mortality risk.
Frank Cheng, Caristo’s CEO and Board Member, expressed his enthusiasm for the company’s journey since 2018. In that time, Caristo transformed a scientific idea into a validated clinical offering, protected intellectual property, published impressive results in peer-reviewed medical journals, and secured initial regulatory approvals. The Series A fundraise will help accelerate Caristo’s growth in existing United Kingdom and EU markets while laying solid foundations for entry into the US market.
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About Oxford Science Enterprises
Established in 2015, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) is an independent investment company worth billions of pounds. The company’s objective is to establish, finance, and create transformational businesses in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the world’s top research university. Through this partnership, OSE gains unparalleled access to the world’s brightest academic minds who are tackling some of the most challenging issues. The company also has a vast network of entrepreneurs and advisors worldwide, which it leverages to help shape and nurture complex ideas into successful businesses. OSE focuses on a core portfolio of around 40 companies, primarily operating in the high-growth and high-impact sectors of Life Sciences, Health Tech, and Deep Tech. The company has a flexible and long-term investment approach, understanding that the journey from groundbreaking research to global markets requires time and perseverance. OSE has invested over £0.5 billion in 80 ambitious companies built on Oxford science to date.
About Caristo Diagnostics Limited
Caristo Diagnostics Limited is a prominent global player in the field of cardiac and vascular disease diagnosis and risk assessment. It was established in 2018 as a spin-off from the prestigious University of Oxford, which is widely regarded as the world’s top research university. Using imaging-based and AI-assisted platforms, Caristo has built a diverse portfolio of tools that aid in predicting and diagnosing heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. Nature recognized Caristo Diagnostics as one of the most exciting science-based companies to emerge from academic labs in 2020. The company has secured venture capital investments exceeding £23 million (almost US$30 million) to-date.
About the CaRi-Heart® Technology
Caristo’s flagship technology, CaRi-Heart, has been named the top contender in the Robb Report’s “7 Technologies That Could Change Heart Healthcare Forevermore.” This cutting-edge solution is designed to assist in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease by offering improved risk prediction. Utilizing advanced AI algorithms, the technology offers an unprecedented visualization and quantification of coronary inflammation, which was previously invisible and is the root cause of the disease.
The CaRi-Heart Report, which is provided to each patient, contains several clinical results, including a patient-specific Fat Attenuation Index (FAI) – a novel and patented biomarker that measures coronary inflammation and indicates the patient’s risk relative to a matched peer group, CaRi-Heart Risk, which assesses the absolute 8-year risk of a fatal heart attack based on both coronary inflammation status and standard clinical risk factors, and coronary plaque-specific characterization and quantification.
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The CaRi-Heart Analysis is supported by cloud-based CaRi-Heart software, which is agnostic to the type of scanner generating the routine cardiac CT images. The technology has received CE Mark certification under the latest EU MDR, and UKCA marking was obtained in September 2022. However, the CaRi-Heart is currently limited to research use only in the U.S. until the FDA grants marketing authorization.
The CaRi-Heart technologies have been granted multiple patents in major jurisdictions worldwide, underscoring their innovative and proprietary nature. Furthermore, the technology’s ability to predict heart attacks has been validated with exceptional results that have been published in renowned medical journals such as the Lancet, JACC, European Heart Journal, and Cardiovascular Research. The validation and implementation of CaRi-Heart have been supported by several UK government grants and awards, including the NHS AI Stage 3 Award, which facilitated the real-world evaluation and implementation of the CaRi-Heart care pathway across multiple NHS hospitals.
With its extensive clinical insights, demonstrated validity, and implementation readiness, the CaRi-Heart Analysis Service and the resulting new care pathway are poised to revolutionize cardiac care worldwide by significantly improving the prediction and prevention of future heart attacks.
