HTM-RenalNET-UK

[Chris Pearson]

PRESS RELEASE 2010-01-31
Sensor company in dialysis industry attracts venture capital
Halmstad, Sweden 26th January 2010: Redsense Medical AB has secured venture capital from Teknoseed and Almi Invest to market its product offering globally. Redsense Medical has developed an alarm device designed to detect venous needle dislodgement during hemodialysis. Over 200,000 incidents related to this procedure occur annually, several hundred of them with a lethal outcome.
Redsense Medical has solved a problem known for many years in the field of dialysis treatment by launching an alarm device that efficiently detects whether the venous needle in the patient’s arm becomes loose and is subsequently dislodged during hemodialysis. Existing alarm solutions have major defects, and the alert eyes of the care staff have hitherto been the only thing to reliably stop the dialysis machine from continuing to pump out the patient’s blood if the needle became dislodged. In the event of it becoming loose, it is only a matter of a few minutes before the patient risks serious harm. If the bleeding is detected in time, the patient may need medical treatment, possibly even intensive care, whereas undetected bleeding leads to death. Several hundred deaths occur annually around the world.
A total of 1.9 million patients undergo more than 250 million dialysis treatments annually. The market is growing continuously as people live longer, as more and more are affected by type-II diabetes and as the survival rate for serious kidney problems increases. In addition, self-treatment via home dialysis is becoming increasingly common in certain parts of the world, thus increasing the need for reliable alarm systems. Redsense Medical is responding to this need, which has been identified on the market for many years, and the company has now started setting up sales outlets in some ten countries, using the investments principally for continued market development.
”The dialysis industry has long sought an effective method of detecting blood loss during venous needle dislodgement, and Redsense has now given us access to a disposable-based sound sensor that saves lives”, says Marcus Skärbäck, a Partner at Teknoseed Portfolio Management.
”We are pleased to support Redsense in their work in making dialysis safer and look forward to working with a team with extensive experience in both product development and international sales” says Håkan Krook, CEO of Almi Invest in western Sweden.
”Almi has supported the company from the beginning, first with seed capital and now as an investor” – says Patrik Byhmer, CEO of Redsense Medical. ”Teknoseed and Almi Invest have the know-how, networks and capital to support the company’s development and we appreciate acquiring these investors as active joint owners. The new share issue gives us the preconditions to develop the company and further strengthen our marketing efforts”, he adds.
For more information, contact:
Patrik Byhmer, CEO Redsense Medical: +46 35 10 60 30
Marcus Skärbäck, Teknoseed Portfolio Management AB: +46 709 14 51 59
Håkan Krook, CEO Almi Invest Västsverige AB: +46 31 779 79 04
Facts about Redsense Medical
Redsense Medical AB is a Swedish company that develops systems for dialysis monitoring. The company has offices in Halmstad, Sweden, the USA and Malaysia. The alarm device has two parts: a disposable sensor unit that is fixed around the venous needle like a plaster, and an alarm unit fastened around the patient’s arm. Infrared light is passed through the sensor unit via an optical fiber. Blood on the sensor prevents the
PRESS RELEASE 2010-01-31
light from passing through the fiber, thus triggering the alarm. The sensor does not react to liquids other than blood, thus reducing the risk of a false alarm. For more information: www.redsensemedical.com
About Almi Invest ALMI Invest is a venture capital company which invests in Swedish companies with exciting, scalable business models and motivated entrepreneurs. ALMI Invest consists of seven, regionally based venture capital funds, all with local offices and experienced local investment managers. ALMI Invest was founded in 2009 by ALMI Företagspartner together with regional investors. For more information, please visit www.almiinvest.se.
About TeknoSeed
TeknoSeed is a venture capital company focusing on early-stage investments with ties to the R&D community in southern Sweden. Since inception in 1997 Teknoseed has made over 30 investments within the Life Sciences, ICT and Industrial sectors. For more information, please visit www.teknoseed.se.
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"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper." John Ruskin