Astute Medical raises $20m, inks China distribution deal

Astute Medical said it raised $20 million from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (SHA:600196) and inked a distribution deal with the Chinese company for its NephroCheck kidney-injury test.

The multi-year deal calls for Shanghai Fosun’s Long March Medicine Science subsidiary to distribute NephroCheck on the Astute140 meter in China. NephroCheck is marketed in the U.S. by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics.

“Our strategy is to deliver the benefits of the NephroCheck test to hospitals around the globe, and we are delighted to have Fosun Long-March as a partner,” Astute CEO Chris Hibberd said in prepared remarks. “Worldwide, hospital physicians attempting to manage AKI are plagued by delayed detection, uncertainty and a lack of diagnostic tools that are useful in preliminary or early stages. The NephroCheck Test addresses this gap by aiding in risk assessment, which could help prevent irreversible damage.”

“Astute’s product helps us with early detection of AKI, which is still an unmet market in China. It enables a great improvement in the treatment and prognosis of the disease and reduces the incidence of serious consequences that may arise. The test provides a great help to individual patients and the medical system as a whole,” added Fosun Long-March CEO Dr. Joel Zhang.

A year ago, San Diego-based Astute won 510(k) clearance for NephroCheck, which is used to test for acute kidney injury, or AKI, in patients who have recently suffered a serious cardiac or respiratory event. The FDA nod triggered a $30 million payment from funding partner CRG. Astute raised a $40.4 million Series C round in 2012 led by Boston-based MPM Capital, the venture arms of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Kaiser Permanente.

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