Delphinus Medical Technologies Inc. in Novi has announced the closing of a $30 million Series D financing to fuel the worldwide commercialization of its SoftVue 3-D Whole Breast Ultrasound Tomography System for screening women with dense breasts for breast cancer.
“Every day it becomes increasingly obvious that we have delivered a game changer technology to transform dense breast screening,” says Mark J. Forchette, president and CEO of Delphinus Medical Technologies.
“When potential customers hear that SoftVue finds more cancers, delivers an exceptional patient experience and efficient patient workflow the same day as the mammogram without costly staff additions, they recognize the value for their patients. Our series D will support the robust commercial strategies and efforts needed to help sites quickly adopt this solution for their patients.”
The round drew participation from both new and existing investors, including Arboretum Ventures, Beringea, North Coast Technology Investors, Venture Investors, Hopen Life Science Ventures, and Waycross Ventures. The fund’s closing comes on the heels of the announcement that the first SoftVue System was sold, and will go to Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, where the technology was originally conceived.
Forty percent of women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue, and they have a four-to-six-time greater risk of developing breast cancer. Mammography alone misses about half the cancers in women with dense breasts, as dense tissue and cancer both appear white on mammogram images. SoftVue was developed to address this unmet clinical need and provides a new annual screening solution for this historically underserved population.
SoftVue is meant for use as an adjunct to digital mammography in the screening of asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue. SoftVue enhances dense breast screening and identifies up to 20 percent more cancers with greater accuracy and potentially fewer biopsies than full field digital mammography (FFDM) alone.
The SoftVue exam is completed with no compression or radiation, and its PMA indication for use allows SoftVue exams to be performed at the same appointment as screening mammograms, facilitating a streamlined workflow and rapid delivery of results.
“Our board of directors and investors are very excited to launch into commercial activities with SoftVue,” says Paul McCreadie, board chairman at Delphinus and partner and COO at Arboretum Ventures.
“The successful completion of a rigorous clinical study that resulted in the PMA approval we received last year for dense breast screening will allow the Delphinus team to leverage the unique technology of SoftVue to change the paradigm for dense breast screening and help millions of women receive superior care. We invest to allow breakthrough innovations to serve patients, and Delphinus is perfectly poised to do exactly that.”
