Toronto-based wound imaging startup MolecuLight has received an undisclosed amount of funding from BDC Capital and iGan Ventures. MolecuLight refused to share the financing amount.
These injections of new capital are earmarked for supporting the company’s global expansion as it aims to meet growing market demand.
Leonard Kofman, partner with BDC Capital’s Intellectual Property-Backed Financing, will join MolecuLight’s board of directors along with Jody Staggs, managing director of SWK Holdings.
Texas-based SWK Holdings, which offers capital solutions for commercial-stage healthcare and life science companies, previously provided MolecuLight with $10 million USD in structured debt earlier this year.
Founded in 2012 by Ralph DaCosta, MolecuLight develops fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for health applications. Its i:X platform allows clinicians to detect potentially harmful levels of bacteria, as well as measure and document wound areas. In 2015, MolecuLight was authorized to sell its i:X product by Health Canada.
MolecuLight’s head office and R&D is in Toronto, and its US Sales and Clinical Support office is based in Pittsburgh. The company has 16 distributors in 18 global markets and is focusing on expansion in Western Europe.
The healthtech firm received an FDA 510(k) clearance in December 2019 for its handheld fluorescence imaging device for use in the detection of wounds containing bacteria. The company received another clearance last year for the detection of wounds containing clinically significant levels of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause dermatitis, soft tissue infections, urinary tract infections, respiratory system infections, and a variety of systemic infections.
According to MolecuLight CEO Anil Amlani, these injections of new capital are earmarked for supporting the company’s global expansion as it aims to meet growing market demand.
Amlani was appointed to his role in 2017. Prior to joining MolecuLight, he was involved in three multi-million dollar exits: Cancom to Shaw ($675 million), VisualSonics to SonoSite ($67.9 million USD), and SonoSite to Fujifilm ($995 million USD).
The demand, according to MolecuLight, is fuelled by a number of drivers, including a significant level of published evidence showing the significant clinical benefit and cost-savings that come from facilities that use MolecuLight. This includes over 60 peer-reviewed publications and more than 1,500 patients.
The company noted that demand for its devices is coming from all major markets including the United States and Canada, Western Europe, across Asia, the Middle East and Australia.
RELATED: MolecuLight receives $7.5 million USD loan from Oxford Finance
In past funding, MolecuLight secured a $7.5 million USD loan from Oxford Finance LLC in 2019. In that same year, Photonamic GmbH & Co. KG acquired MolecuLight’s clinical oncology business to form a subsidiary of Photonamic called SBI ALApharma Canada.
MolecuLight has previously collaborated with Photonamic in oncology, combining MolecuLight’s imaging technology with Photonamic’s 5-ALA contrast agent.
In 2014, MolecuLight also received $990,000 from FedDev Ontario and raised a $4 million seed round led by iGan Partners with participation from angel investors
Featured image from MolecuLight’s website.