Limaca Medical Raises $1.25 Million to Enhance Precision Medicine Through Improved Biopsies

Agriline and Trendlines led the round for this major leap in endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy devices for improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal and other solid tumor cancers

News provided by

Limaca Medical

Nov 10, 2020, 09:00 ET

MISGAV, Israel, Nov. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Limaca Medical, ("Limaca") a portfolio company of The Trendlines Group Ltd. (SGX: 42T) (OTCQX: TRNLY), a leading Israel- and Singapore-based investment group focused on high-growth medical and agrifood technologies, announced it has closed $1.25 million of a $1.5 million round to complete first-in-human ("FIH") procedures, post-market clinical studies, and obtain regulatory approvals.

Iyad Khamaysi, MD, using Limaca’s Precision(TM) in first-in-human study at the advanced endoscopy unit of the gastroenterological department of RAMBAM Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel

Limaca has raised $1.25 million from Trendlines, Agriline (ultimately owned by a trust of which Vincent Tchenguiz is a discretionary beneficiary ), Limaca Chairman and medical device industry veteran Carl Rickenbaugh, and a private investor.

The Precision™ biopsy device developed by Limaca deploys an automated revolving needle to acquire high-quality core tissue for histopathology and advanced genetic profiling. The Precision device makes it possible to acquire biopsy tissue samples at ten times greater procedural efficiency with less trauma than today's endoscopic standard of care for greater diagnostic accuracy and patient-specific treatment to achieve better clinical outcomes.

Limaca's CEO Assaf Klein commented, "We designed Precision to improve upon endoscopic biopsies and make a substantial leap forward in this critical diagnostic procedure to advance precision treatment and achieve superior outcomes for cancer patients."

To date, 10 patients have been enrolled in Limaca's FIH study at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Israel. The FIH study compares Limaca's Precision to standard of care EUS biopsy devices. Results have demonstrated excellent ease of use, safety, and improved sample capture. Iyad Khamaysi, MD, Director, Invasive Endoscopy Unit, Rambam Health Care, and one of Limaca's founders, states, "Precision exceeded all clinical expectations for endoscopic biopsy while demonstrating clear safety in our cases."

Limaca's initial market is biopsy sampling for pancreatic cancer, an $850 million opportunity. Current methods used for sampling of this deadly cancer are outdated and provide poor tissue samples, frequently requiring a second biopsy procedure to acquire more tissue for diagnostic testing. Additional markets for Precision, which are estimated at over $400 million, address biopsy sampling for the diagnosis of lung cancer, liver biopsy, lymphoma, and other cancers where endoscopic biopsy is feasible and subcutaneous tissue sampling is difficult.

Carl Rickenbaugh, Limaca's Chairman, comments "The medical provider and payor markets respond to superior devices when they demonstrate strong clinical relevancy. We built Limaca to address the need for a more efficient endoscopic procedure for the provider, and for the cancer patient and payor, greater certainty to gain sufficient sample quality and quantity needed for pathology as well as more stringent genetic testing requirements."

Contact information
Assaf Klein, CEO Limaca Medical
[email protected]
+972-54-229-9572

SOURCE Limaca Medical