4FO Ventures leads Positrigo’s CHF 3.9m series A round

 

Positrigo has raised more than CHF 6 million in blended financing, which includes a CHF 3.9 million series A round led by 4FO Ventures. The funds will be used to support the development of the start-up’s next-generation head Positron Emission Tomography system for the brain.

 

 

In addition to 4FO Ventures, Positrigo’s series A round involved the participation of Great Filter Ventures, a China-based fund focused on high-tech companies, Zurich Cantonal Bank, and ETH Zurich Foundation. The latter supports the most promising spinoffs from ETH Zurich before their founding and later through early-stage financing, to help them reach their full potential. Additionally, Positrigo secured EUR 2.2 million in the form of a grant obtained from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, and an undisclosed amount from an additional equity-financing offer.

Based in Zurich, Positrigo is an emerging start-up developing ultra-compact Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems for the brain. The company aims to deliver versatile head PET scanners for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's accessible to a broad population. This year, the startup completed the BPET clinical prototype together with ETH Zurich hence the investment comes at a time of rapid development.

The funds will kickstart the development of the first product NeuroLF as the next step. The startup also aims to obtain certification of its imaging system as a medical device under CE and FDA regulations and to enter the market by 2021.

“We have been fascinated by Positrigo’s technology and its market potential. Their approach allows the spread of a technology normally reserved to large, well-funded hospitals and can allow a point-of-care approach to brain-scanning. We were especially impressed by the team and its enthusiasm,” said Jean-Pierre Rosat, 4FO Ventures Founder and General Partners.

(Press release/RAN)