iPremom has raised €15 million in seed funding led by Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from Asabys Partners and APEX Ventures, to advance its molecular diagnostics platform for the early prediction of pregnancy complications.
The Valencia, Spain-based company plans to use the financing to support clinical validation and commercialization of MaiRa, a blood-based platform designed to identify molecular signals associated with pregnancy complications during the first trimester.
MaiRa analyzes cell-free RNA and applies predictive modeling to assess risks including preeclampsia months before symptoms may become apparent.
The platform is based on more than a decade of research by iPremom co-founders Professor Carlos Simón, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, and Dr. Tamara Garrido, Chief Scientific Officer.
For preeclampsia, the company’s research has identified detectable molecular signals in maternal blood as early as nine to 14 weeks into pregnancy.
MaiRa has been developed using data from more than 26,000 samples linked to 10,000 pregnancies included in the PREMOM study, one of Spain’s largest prospective clinical trials.
The company expects to add molecular signals associated with additional pregnancy complications to the platform over time.
Led by CEO Guillermo Ferrando Huertas, iPremom currently makes MaiRa available in Spain through its laboratory.
The new funding will support commercial rollout, completion of additional validation studies, and regulatory approval efforts in the European Union and United States.
KEY QUOTES:
“Pregnancy complications have been under-diagnosed and under-treated for generations, because the field was looking in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our ambition is not just to build a better preeclampsia test, it is to give every pregnant woman a comprehensive, early molecular picture of her pregnancy. This funding is a critical step toward making that a clinical reality.”
Professor Carlos Simón, Co-Founder and Chairman of iPremom
“We are delighted to partner again with Prof. Simón, after the success of Igenomix which transformed IVF genetics. iPremom is poised to do the same for prenatal care, an even larger market opportunity. By predicting risk from the first weeks of pregnancy based on a simple blood test, it will inform and prepare millions of expecting couples, arm clinicians with unparalleled insights for targeted intervention, and give every baby the best possible start in life. We are proud to be leading this round.”
Pierre Socha, Partner at Amadeus Capital Partners
