Luminous Medical, Inc. Secures $23.5 Million to Commercialize an Automated Blood Glucose Monitor for Critical Care Use

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Luminous Medical, Inc. announced today that it has completed a $23.5 million round of Series B financing. Adams Street Partners led the investment, joined by new investors RiverVest Venture Partners, and Finistere Ventures. Existing investors De Novo Ventures and Latterell Venture Partners also participated in the round.

“We are impressed by the achievements demonstrated by the Luminous Medical management team and believe they are in a position to lead this market.”

The company is developing an automated blood glucose monitor for in-hospital use with critically ill patients. Establishing tight glucose control in these patients has been shown to improve outcomes including highly significant reductions in complications, length of stay and mortality. The Luminous Medical monitor will simplify the implementation of tight glucose control by providing frequent glucose measurements automatically.

“We found the clinical evidence supporting the need for such a product to be compelling,” said Mike Lynn, M.D. of Adams Street Partners. “We are impressed by the achievements demonstrated by the Luminous Medical management team and believe they are in a position to lead this market.”

“We are pleased to have such a strong group of investors supporting our company. This is a positive endorsement for Luminous Medical and its technology,” said Rick Thompson, President and CEO. “We will use these funds to complete product development and pursue our commercialization strategy.”

A poster from a clinical study conducted on healthy volunteers with a prototype Automated Blood Glucose Monitor will be presented at the International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, March 18 – 21 in Brussels, Belgium. The results demonstrate that the system can track blood glucose levels over time with accuracy comparable to currently available point-of-care blood glucose meters.

About Luminous Medical, Inc.:

Luminous Medical is developing an automated blood glucose monitor to address the rapidly growing clinical demand for tight glycemic control (TGC). Clinical data demonstrates significant morbidity and mortality benefits from normalizing glucose levels in hyperglycemic patients. As a result, clinicians have rapidly adopted TGC procedures but struggle with inadequate and time consuming manual methods. The Luminous Medical monitor, using technology licensed from InLight Solutions, Albuquerque, NM, will allow the achievement of these clinical benefits while reducing errors and nursing labor. The product has not been cleared for use by the FDA. More information is available at www.luminousmedical.com.

About Adams Street Partners, LLC:

Adams Street Partners has been making investments in private equity since 1972. Adams Street Partners has made hundreds of investments, with the objective of backing experienced management teams focused on high-growth markets. Direct Investments are made primarily in companies in the technology and life sciences. Adams Street Partners currently manages $16.5 billion and has offices in Chicago, Menlo Park, London and Singapore.

About De Novo Ventures:

De Novo is a venture capital firm focused on investing in life science companies. Located in Palo Alto, California, the firm was founded in 2000 and has $650 million under management. For more information about De Novo Ventures, visit www.denovovc.com.

About Finistere Ventures:

Finistere Ventures, based in San Diego, CA, invests primarily in seed and early stage medical device, agbio/agritech and renewable fuel companies. Finistere's principals have managed numerous, successful start-up companies in its focus areas and work closely with the entrepreneurs and management teams of its portfolio companies to establish and execute a sound strategic plan that will create the value necessary for a successful exit. More information is available at www.finistereventures.com.

About Latterell Venture Partners:

Latterell Venture Partners is a venture capital fund focused on early stage biomedical start-ups based in San Francisco. More information is available at www.lvpcapital.com.

About RiverVest Venture Partners:

RiverVest Venture Partners^® is a venture capital firm investing in emerging medical device, biopharmaceutical and other healthcare venture opportunities. RiverVest applies both its capital and its team’s diverse range of expertise to create and grow successful enterprises that address unmet medical needs in major markets. More information is available at www.rivervest.com.