VIDA Raises $5.1m in Round B Funding to Commercialize Precision Pulmonary Informatics Software and Services

CORALVILLE, Iowa, Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- VIDA Diagnostics, Inc. ("VIDA"), the leader in precision pulmonary informatics, announced the completion of a $5.1 million round of equity financing.  The investment will fuel VIDA's growth with commercialization of its VIDA|vision^TM pulmonary imaging software and associated Precision Services.  Funding was led by Chartline Capital Partners.  Rittenhouse Ventures, Next Level Ventures, Rural Vitality Fund II, Iowa Seed Fund, and Northern California Investment Fund also participated in the round.

"VIDA's strategic focus and economic model is a tight fit with our investment criteria," said Phil Stern of Chartline Capital Partners.  "VIDA's clinical market understanding and dominant position in the emerging pulmonary analytics space provide it a unique opportunity to raise the standard of care for patients and populations with or at risk of pulmonary disease."

The investment will be used to expand VIDA's commercialization efforts, hire additional talent, and enhance its clinical software and services.  VIDA will advance its industry-leading solutions for pulmonary disease management, including lung cancer, COPD, and asthma. 

VIDA offers a unique lung informatics solution that is a combination of image analysis services (Precision Services) and software visualization and analytics (VIDA|vision).  The solution spans both diagnostic and therapeutic planning applications.  For suspected lung cancer patients, VIDA|vision provides interventional pulmonologists with airway mapping software to guide an optimal path for bronchoscopic biopsy.  For severe emphysema patients, VIDA provides an array of advanced, clinically-validated measures to inform treatment selection to match the right patient to the right treatment, focusing on improving outcomes. 

"Precision healthcare requires precision information," said Susan A. Wood, Ph.D., President and CEO of VIDA.  "Healthcare is moving to value quality of care over quantity of care.  At VIDA, we are driven to improve treatment selection and therapy outcomes for pulmonary patients by equipping care teams with rich, evidence-based information they often lack today.  This round B investment will help VIDA bring that information to the market, with the goal of improving quality of care."  

About VIDA

VIDA is focused on changing the practice of pulmonary care by empowering the pulmonary clinician with precision informatics.  VIDA's suite of software and associated analysis services aid early detection, evaluation, and treatment planning of lung diseases, including lung cancer, emphysema, airway obstructive diseases, and asthma.  VIDA's software and services are cleared for clinical use in the United States, Canada, European Union, and Australia.  VIDA is headquartered in Coralville, IA, with an additional office in Minneapolis, MN. More at www.vidadiagnostics.com

About Chartline Capital Partners

Chartline Capital Partners is a venture fund making non-control investments in technology companies serving enterprise, healthcare and industrial customers to make them more efficient, reliable, and safe. Chartline's aim is to enter around a strategic inflection point and help boards, shareholders, and management teams realize the full potential of their business. Chartline is headquartered in Wilmington, DE, with additional offices in New York and Boston.  More at www.chartline.com

About Rittenhouse Ventures

Rittenhouse Ventures is a Philadelphia-based emerging-growth VC firm focused on software solutions for healthcare, financial services, and human resources.  More at www.rittenhouseventures.com

About Next Level Ventures

Next Level Ventures is a venture capital firm which invests in growing companies that are based in Iowa.  More at www.nextlevelvc.com

About Rural Vitality Fund II

Rural Vitality Fund II is an effort led by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and done in partnership with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa focused on providing financing resources to businesses that positively impact rural communities throughout Iowa.  More at www.iowafarmbureau.com

SOURCE VIDA Diagnostics, Inc.