Venture Investors Health Fund of Madison has co-led a $21.5 million Series B financing round in an Atlanta firm that develops technology for identifying and treating autism, according to an early April press release.
Venture Investors teamed with Nexus NeuroTech Ventures of San Francisco to lead the investment in EarliTec Diagnostics Inc., founded by researchers from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine and Yale University in 2019.
Earlitec plans to use the funds to expand commercialization and clinical research for its early autism diagnostic tool — called the EarliPoint Evaluation — for children ages 16 to 30 months.
“EarliTec is pioneering diagnostic and treatment solutions for children with autism, and we’re thrilled to support their innovative efforts,” said Jim Adox, executive managing director at Venture Investors Health Fund.
Venture Investors is focused on innovation in the health care industry. According to its website, it currently has $275 million in assets under management.
Earlitec is currently involved in three studies across 10 centers in the U.S. that will focus on EarliPoint as a diagnostic and assessment tool for children from 16 months through the age of 7, while expanding the body of evidence to demonstrate that the tool can measure treatment response in the same child over time, said Tom Ressemann, CEO of EarliTec Diagnostics.
The Earlipoint Evaluation is an assessment in which children watch a 10-minute video of social interactions on a tablet. The evaluation has eye-tracking technology and uses digital biomarkers to track how a child focuses on the videos, giving the doctor data they can use to diagnose. The evaluation assesses earmarks of autism such as social disability, verbal ability and nonverbal learning.
"There is a severe unmet need in autism diagnosis, and families often face a challenging path to diagnosis of autism due to the lack of innovation in the space and limited access to expert clinicians," Ami Klin, chief clinical officer and founder of EarliTec, said in a press release. "EarliPoint represents a meaningful step forward in better, accessible care for autistic children. For the first time, clinicians have a tool to objectively understand where a child is on the spectrum, reach a diagnosis and deliver personalized care.”
Since its founding, the company has raised $50 million in funding and currently has 24 employees, including nine at a production facility in Minneapolis.
Cam Bonelli of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal contributed to this report.
