MeMed raises $70M for immune system-based infection diagnostics

MeMed has raised over $70 million to support its point-of-care immune system diagnostic for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections. The company aims to cut down on the misuse of antibiotics, to avoid ineffective treatments and the spread of drug-resistant strains.

In addition, the Haifa, Israel-based company plans to use the money to complete its MeMed Key protein measurement platform, as well as expand its pipeline to include other machine learning- and immune-based tests.

"Importantly, the MeMed Key platform opens the way to central lab precision at the point-of-care,” said Kfir Oved, the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer, describing how the Key platform will be able to run MeMed’s infection test within minutes once it is cleared.

“It will allow measurement of multiple other proteins and signatures, both conventional and new, that currently are only measurable in the central lab,” Oved added. “This unlocks enormous value in diagnosing and managing patients across a wide range of other diseases.”

The series C funding round included support from Ping An Global Voyager Fund, Foxconn, Caesarea Medical Holdings, Clal Insurance, Phoenix Insurance, OurCrowd, Social Capital, WTI, Horizons Ventures and others.

“Beyond profoundly benefiting individual patients, this groundbreaking technology will address antibiotic overuse within the broader population and contribute to reducing the growing burden of antibiotic resistance,” said Marco Huesch, chief medical officer of the Ping An Voyager Fund.

One year ago, MeMed presented data from a study of nearly 600 children and adolescents showing the accuracy of its CE-marked blood test for differentiating acute infections. The test measures immune system biomarkers and uses algorithms to recognize patterns linked to viral or bacterial contagions.

The study included patients with respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and those with a fever that had no identifiable source. At the time, the test beat out routine laboratory assays commonly used to manage patients with infections, such as white blood cell counts.