PR92673

MONTREAL, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- This round was led by DigitalDx Ventures and supported by Boehringer

Ingelheim Venture Fund

-- Other investors include Desjardins Capital, Hike Ventures, Advisors Fund,

MEDTEQ+ and Biomed Propulsion (participative debt)

-- New funding will support the development of Optina's Retinal Deep

Phenotyping(TM) platform

-- It will also support Optina's pivotal study for the FDA regulatory

submission of the awAIr(TM) cerebral amyloid status test for Alzheimer's

disease detection, aligning the platform with novel therapeutic approvals

Optina, an innovative diagnostics company, leader in Retinal Imaging, Brain

Health and Systemic Disease detection, announced today the closing of a CA$24.8

million Series-A round of funding.

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Optina's Retinal Deep Phenotyping(TM) platform obtained FDA Breakthrough Device

Designation status in 2019 for its non-invasive and more accessible test to

improve diagnosis accuracy and the management of patients undergoing evaluation

for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Series A's primary focus is to support the

pivotal study for Optina's awAIr(TM) cerebral amyloid status test when AD is

suspected and will also support the platform development for early detection of

systemic diseases.

"DigitalDx is honored to have led a successful round for Optina Diagnostics. At

DigitalDx we believe the recent technological advances in health data capture

enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) could dramatically impact our ability

to diagnose illness earlier, potentially drastically improve patient outcomes

and save our healthcare system billions of dollars and could redefine the way

we create value in healthcare," says Michele Colucci Founder & CEO of DigitalDx

Ventures.

"The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund recognizes the potential of the Optina

technology for capturing a variety of data types at extremely high resolution

through a possibly faster and simpler non-invasive eye scan. This technology

could be tremendously valuable for advancing efforts in R&D biomarker

development. We are excited that Optina will continue to develop their platform

in multiple areas and strive to bring meaningful health outcomes for patients,"

said Debbie Lin, Ph.D., Executive Director of Digital Health Investments,

Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund.

Funds will also be used to accelerate the deployment of additional clinical

study sites with the installation of Optina's Retinal Deep Phenotyping(TM)

platform at leading institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

"We are eager to put this investment to work. Optina is at the forefront of

Systemic Diseases and Brain Health diagnosis and clinical experts are

advocating for novel objective tools for early diagnosis and monitoring of

at-risk patients for these underserved disease areas. This funding could allow

us to make a significant difference by changing mindsets when it comes to Brain

Health and hopefully ease millions of worried patients around the world by

detecting the causes of their cognitive impairment and providing them access to

novel therapeutics," said David Lapointe, CEO Optina Diagnostics.

About Optina Diagnostics

Optina Diagnostics is a Montreal-based company focused on changing mindsets

when it comes to Brain Health and systemic diseases. With a first application

in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Optina challenges the status quo by

providing an accurate, simple, and non-invasive optical test to understand the

age-related sources of memory loss, empowering millions. optinadx.com

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3338357-1&h=152609479&u=https%3A%2F%2Foptinadx.com%2F&a=optinadx.com).  

About DigitalDx Ventures

DigitalDx Ventures is a woman-owned Venture Capital fund in Silicon Valley

supporting companies that diagnose illness earlier, less invasively, more

accurately and less expensively enabled by artificial intelligence and data.

The Fund is committed to producing a triple bottom line: superior financial

returns, diversity and access to healthcare for all. There are currently 8

companies in the portfolio providing game changing diagnostics in Alzheimer's

diagnosis, kidney health, breast cancer, mental health, maternal health,

patient monitoring and multi cancer screening.

About Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund

The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund is the strategic venture fund of

Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation. Since 2010, we invest in pioneering science

that offers the potential to provide a significant benefit for our patients.

Innovation is not restricted by geography; therefore, we invest worldwide.

About Desjardins Capital

Over 45 years strong, Desjardins Capital (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3338357-1&h=1507816921&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desjardinscapital.com%2F&a=Desjardins+Capital)

has a mission to value, support and nurture the best of Quebec

entrepreneurship. With assets under management of C$2.8 billion as of June 30,

2021, Desjardins Capital helps contribute to the longevity of more than 610

companies, cooperatives and funds in various sectors from across Quebec. In

addition to helping to maintain and create many thousands of jobs, this

subsidiary of Desjardins Group (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3338357-1&h=3645944965&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desjardins.com%2F&a=Desjardins+Group) offers business owners access to a large business network and supports their

business growth. For more information, visit our website, desjardinscapital.com

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3338357-1&h=1962473216&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desjardinscapital.com%2F&a=desjardinscapital.com).

Marie-Claude Marchand, Chief Commercial Officer & Communications, Optina

Diagnostics Inc., +1 514.727.1571, mcmarchand@optinadx.com

SOURCE  Optina Diagnostics