HealthCap has invested in AMRA Medical to support the global expansion of the healthcare technology company’s quantitative MRI platform for measuring muscle and fat composition. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Sweden-based AMRA has spent more than 15 years developing proprietary imaging methods designed to provide standardized and automated measurements of muscle and fat.
The technology is intended to give researchers and clinicians more detailed information than conventional metrics such as body weight, body mass index and muscle function tests.
AMRA’s platform generates quantitative biomarkers from MRI images to help researchers evaluate how muscle composition and fat distribution relate to disease, therapeutic response and patient outcomes.
The technology has applications across metabolic and neuromuscular medicine as researchers increasingly use biomarkers to evaluate treatment effects and improve clinical trial design.
AMRA said the HealthCap investment will support continued research and development, product innovation and international commercial expansion.
The company’s cloud-based workflows are designed to provide standardized analysis across research sites, helping pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare organizations use consistent imaging-derived measurements in clinical development.
AMRA sees the technology as particularly relevant as drug developers seek more precise endpoints for evaluating therapies affecting metabolism, muscle and body composition.
HealthCap is a European life sciences venture capital firm that has invested globally since 1996.
The firm has backed and built more than 130 companies and has taken 48 portfolio businesses public.
HealthCap Managing Partner Mårten Steen will join AMRA Medical’s board as part of the investment.
The investment provides AMRA with a life sciences partner as the company works to move its technology from scientific validation toward broader adoption in clinical research and healthcare.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our next phase is about translating years of scientific validation into broader clinical and research impact.”
“HealthCap’s extensive life sciences experience and global network will be instrumental as we extend the reach of our technology and the deep scientific insights it provides.”
Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, CEO of AMRA Medical
“AMRA combines differentiated technology and strong scientific validation with clear relevance to critical areas of medicine and unmet medical need.”
“We see significant potential for AMRA’s technology as clinicians increasingly demand better data to track patient progress and treatment effects.”
Dr. Mårten Steen, Managing Partner at HealthCap
