Clarapath, a medical robotics company modernizing and transforming how pathology laboratories process tissue, announced it raised $36 million in Series B-1 funding round led by Northwell Ventures. And additional new strategic investors participated in the funding round, including CU Healthcare Innovation Fund, Mayo Clinic, and Ochsner Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $75 million.
The discipline of pathology involves the microscopic examination of cells and tissue, emphasizing the research, diagnosis and treatment pathway of nearly every disease type including: cancer; autoimmune conditions; degenerative diseases and others. Currently in the US, over 12 million human and veterinary biopsies are performed each year, with millions more for biopharmaceutical drug safety. Now a multi-prong crisis exists in laboratories that is driven by severe labor shortages, rising caseloads and an antiquated, manual process of preparing tissue samples.
Robotics and automated systems were introduced in healthcare settings as a way to alleviate workforce issues and standardize. But most of the progress has been aimed at surgical robots or physical rehabilitation. With this latest funding round, Clarapath is prepared to be the first US-based company to develop and deploy a new category of ground-breaking healthcare robotics, machine vision and digital automation tools, elevating the standard for hospitals and patients.
With this new funding round, Clarapath will further accelerate the commercialization of SectionStar. And the company will also utilize the funds to expand its sales and service, precision manufacturing capabilities as well as continue its robust R&D pipeline.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our strategic investors share in our mission to significantly overhaul this critical aspect of patient care that has long been overlooked. As labs adopt digital pathology downstream, automation in prior steps is crucial to establish consistent results and provide best-in-class samples for diagnostic review. Our automation and new digital tools capture and aggregate never-before-seen data, ultimately benefiting patients with faster results and less subjectivity.”
– Eric Feinstein, CEO of Clarapath
“Innovation is embedded in Northwell’s culture and integral to the way we approach investment in novel solutions which improve patient care and lower cost. We identified Clarapath seven years ago as a company with a bold vision to radically change laboratory medicine and are committed to continued support of their progressive journey which will transform medical diagnostics.”
– Rich Mulry, CEO of Northwell Holdings
“For too long, pathology laboratories have not seen the level of technology innovation that other areas of medicine have seen. Clarapath demonstrates the right mix of technical, robotic expertise coupled with healthcare workflow experience.”
– Gregg Sossaman, M.D., Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Ochsner Health and incoming President of the American Society for Clinical Pathology
“Together, we are building the foundation for a ‘lab of the future’ that incorporates end-to-end automation, robotics, and AI to the patient tissue lifecycle.”
– Joaquín García, M.D., chair of the division of Anatomic Pathology within Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and chair of Mayo Clinic’s Digital Pathology Program
