RetiSpec Closes $10 Million in Series A Funding

RetiSpec Inc.’s coffers have received an infusion of $10 million from a Series A financing round led by iGan Partners. This money will enable RetiSpec to accelerate the commercialization of its early detection technology for Alzheimer’s disease.
 
The Series A financing inclued support from new strategic investors Eli Lilly and Company and Topcon Healthcare Inc. as well as existing backers Gentex Corporation, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Diagnostics Accelerator, Verge HealthTech Fund, University of Minnesota’s Discovery Capital, Ontario Brain Institute, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, and private investors. The support raises RetiSpec’s financing total to $17 million.

“The closing of this Series A financing is a testament of the significant strides we’ve achieved and marks a major step forward in our mission to enable widespread early and accurate detection of neurodegenerative disease markers with our innovative AI-driven eye test,” RetiSpec Co-Founder/CEO Eliav Shaked said. “We are thrilled to welcome such strong new investors, alongside existing investors, such as Gentex, who have been key contributors throughout our journey. Together, this investment will allow us to accelerate the commercialization of our AI-driven eye test, which has the potential to transform patient outcomes and enable early, accurate, and equitable access to treatment.”
 
RetiSpec’s clinically validated test aims to help healthcare providers predict amyloid burden, a core biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease. The test is now available for research use only but the company hopes it will be used in routine office visits globally in the near future. RetiSpec’s AI solutions applied to non-invasive retinal images, provide real-time assessments at the point of care. RetiSpec’s goal is to also develop additional AI-driven diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases and side effects of Alzheimer’s therapeutics.
 
RetiSpec will participate in the upcoming Bio-Hermes-002 study sponsored by the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP). The study aims to investigate the relationship between novel markers of Alzheimer’s disease, including RetiSpec’s test, and the gold standard for diagnosis across a sample of 1,000 cognitively normal and impaired participants. Bio-Hermes-002 is expected to include an unprecedented number of participants from traditionally underrepresented populations in Alzheimer’s studies in order to benefit everyone impacted by Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
 
Along with the financing, RetiSpec ihas welcomed Topcon Healthcare Chief Commercial Officer Lance Patton to its Board of Directors. His 28 years of expertise in driving adoption of diagnostic imaging technologies through eyecare settings will be invaluable as RetiSpec continues to scale and bring its innovative solutions to market, according to the firm.

RetiSpec is a Toronto-based medical AI company that aims to enable widespread early and accurate detection of neurodegenerative disease markers through a simple eye exam. RetiSpec’s AI solutions applied to non-invasive retinal images, provide real-time results at the point of care. RetiSpec’s first clinically validated AI is intended to predict amyloid burden to aid in the evaluation of individuals for Alzheimer’s disease.