PR96005

Pocared Diagnostics, an Israeli rapid infectious diseases diagnostics leader, secures a EUR 22 million EIB backing for completion of the development and commercialization of its rapid testing system

REHOVOT, Israel, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- First EIB support for medtech investment in Israel

- Financing to accelerate development of rapid testing system to improve

infectious disease diagnosis and antibiotics stewardship

- Automated phenotypic testing, revolutionizing infectious diseases diagnostics

from sample to answer

Research and development of fully automated testing of bacteria and infectious

diseases by POCARED Diagnostics will be accelerated by EUR 22 million of

European Investment Bank specialized venture debt formally announced earlier

today.

POCARED Diagnostics is currently finalizing development of a new microbiology

testing system that has the potential to revolutionize infectious disease

diagnosis by providing complete results, including sample screening, organism

identification and antimicrobial susceptibility within hours instead of days.

"We are honoured to be selected by the European Investment Bank as the first

Israeli medtech company to be supported by the Infectious Disease Financing

Facility. The investment will allow POCARED to significantly accelerate

development of our diagnostic system and complete the preparations for its

clinical trials. POCARED's system will provide real-time results to clinicians,

enabling them to optimize treatment of infections and save unnecessary patient

suffering while reducing total healthcare costs. For the first time, clinicians

will have all the information required to prescribe the most effective

antibiotic treatment. This will be a key cornerstone of antibiotic stewardship

serving as the main tool for fighting Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)," says

Jonathan Gurfinkel, President and CEO of the company.

"The European Investment Bank is committed to accelerating development of

research that strengthens the fight against infectious diseases and reducing

the threat of AMR to patients with underlying medical conditions. We are

pleased to provide EUR 22 million of new venture debt financing to enhance

POCARED's development of rapid microbiology diagnostics solution. Israel is

home to world class research and development, and we are pleased to provide the

first EIB financing for an Israeli medtech company and build on our strong

engagement supporting biotech investment in this country," said Gelsomina

Vigliotti, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.

Rapid testing is key for improving patient treatment and fighting Antimicrobial

Resistance

The new POCARED test will enable, for the first time, an optimal, evidence

based, patient treatment and transform the fight against Antimicrobial

Resistance.

Building on EIB track record supporting innovation

The venture debt program of the EIB was established to fill the persistent

market gap and increase support for growth stage companies promoting disruptive

innovation.

Since 2015, the EIB has deployed more than EUR 3.0bn in venture debt and

quasi-equity operations, supporting more than 150 highly innovative companies.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the

European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available

for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

POCARED Diagnostics Ltd, is an in-vitro diagnostic and pre-analytics company

utilizing cutting edge technologies to deliver next generation platforms.

POCARED's CULTURE-FREE Microbiology® technology is revolutionizing infectious

disease diagnosis and practice with real-time automated results. This saves

several critical days in reporting compared to current practices.

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Press contact:

POCARED Diagnostics Ltd:

Arie Rand

arie.rand@pocared.com

+972 54-433-0108

https://www.pocared.com

Joint source: POCARED Diagnostics & European Investment Bank