PR87686

MONTREAL, Jan. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Innodem Neurosciences (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3038082-1&h=571427354&u=https%3A%2F%2Finnodemneurosciences.com%2F&a=Innodem+Neurosciences ),

a Montreal-based company, has closed a Series A financing round led by

Morningside Ventures (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3038082-1&h=3206232820&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningside.com%2F&a=Morningside+Ventures )

to support the development and commercialization of its proprietary,

patented, digital biomarking technology of neurodegenerative diseases such as

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and related

disorders, Frontotemporal Dementia and related disorders and Cancer-Related

Cognitive Impairment ("chemo brain").

Innodem's mobile software technology is embodied in an application that turns a

tablet or a smartphone into a device capable of capturing Eye Movement

Biomarkers (EMBs) and Gaze Mapping Biomarkers (GMBs) accurately within minutes

in order to assist a clinician's diagnosis. Current and future clinical

validation trials will provide EMB & GMB data to Innodem's fully integrated

HIPAA/PIPEDA compliant data management pipeline leveraging the latest deep

learning technology.

"Morningside is the ideal investor to help us transition our novel technology

into a future industry standard. This technology will be highly accessible and

improve the quality of care and patient outcomes, with unseen levels of

user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness for the global health system" added

Innodem's co-founder & Chief Business Officer, Marc Reeves.

After a successful Seed round in 2019 and the launch of Pigio(TM) – Innodem's

Proof of Concept technology & iPad App – the company obtained a USPTO patent

and was able to increase the precision of its eye tracking technology to a

level comparable or better than existing and costly infrared hardware

solutions. Using deep learning on the anonymous data emanating from thousands

of Pigio(TM) users, Innodem was able to refine its original algorithm and pivot

towards the development of unique digital EMB & GMB technology used by

pharmaceutical companies to improve clinical trial management. The innovative

technology is also patent pending in Europe, Japan and China.

"Emerging digital biomarking technologies are redefining the global,

multi-billion dollars, diagnostic imaging market and our investment in Innodem

is in line with our overall portfolio strategy" added Gerald Chan, Chairman &

CEO of Morningside Group.

"The interesting thing with mobile artificial intelligence applications is that

the more data we obtain, the more accurate our algorithms become at detecting

and tracking the presence and progression of these various devastating

neurological conditions. This has truly been a collaborative effort with my

colleagues at the Montreal NEURO and McGill, since access to well-phenotyped

patients is crucial for the training and refinement of our technology. Digital

EMB & GMB tests are non-invasive and can be completed in minutes by the patient

from the comfort of their own home. Remote self-testing is a major advantage,

even more so during a global pandemic" added Dr. de Villers-Sidani, cognitive

neurologist, main founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Scientific Officer of Innodem.

Over the course of Innodem's ongoing trial at the Montreal NEURO involving

patients suffering from MS, bi-weekly self-testing results will assist

healthcare professionals in detecting subtle changes that may not show up using

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), despite these changes being indicative of

disease progression and the onset of more pronounced symptoms. Innodem

management is hopeful that the multi-year trial will demonstrate that novel

digital EMBs & GMBs can measure these changes accurately and cost-effectively

while improving quality of care and patient outcomes.

"A clinician whose patient is transitioning to the progressive form of MS may

recommend a better adapted treatment which could, if detected early, prevent

this individual from developing severe neurological impairments. No practical

tools currently exist to detect such a transition to progressive MS and I believe

EMBs & GMBs can fill that important gap", added Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani.

About INNODEM NEUROSCIENCES

Founded in 2016, Innodem Neurosciences has developed patented mobile digital

biomarking technology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis,

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and related disorders, Frontotemporal

Dementia and related disorders and Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment ("chemo

brain"). This novel eye-tracking and cognition testing technology is embodied

in a HIPAA/PIPEDA compliant system consisting of an intuitive tablet

application (smartphone coming soon) connected to a cloud-based AI

infrastructure. The app is made up of a series of tasks that are completed in

minutes, where a user's eye movement is recorded in data sets called Eye

Movement Biomarkers (EMBs) and Gaze Mapping Biomarkers (GMBs). Innodem's core

team, led by cognitive neurologist & CEO Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani, is

composed of an intersectional group of neuroscientists, software engineers,

data scientists, healthcare professionals and serial entrepreneurs. The

company's mission is to provide easier ways to do remote testing for all stages

of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer-related cognitive impairment to

improve quality of care and patient outcomes, at unseen levels of

user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness for the global health system.

About MORNINGSIDE GROUP

Morningside Group was founded in 1986, by the Chan family of Hong Kong, to make

private equity and venture capital investments. The group is managed by

investment professionals who are entrepreneurial, have deep industry knowledge

and are effective in the local environment in which they operate. In addition

to its investment activities, Morningside Group is strongly committed to social

responsibility. To learn more, visit www.morningside.com.  

Contact: Valerie Gonzalo, +1.514.923.1549, valerie@agocom.ca

SOURCE Innodem Neurosciences