AMRA raises $9 million from Pfizer Venture Investments, Novo Seeds and Industrifonden
Digital health company AMRA has announced a $9 million funding round co-led by US-based Pfizer Venture Investments and leading Nordic VC Novo Seeds together with existing owner Industrifonden.
AMRA aims to understand the relationship between fat, muscle and the development of disease, and to redefine obesity and metabolic risk using a personalised medicine approach.
Founded in 2010, AMRA has since launched a cloud-based, computer-aided service, AMRA® Profiler, which translates data from a rapid, 6-minute whole body MRI scan into precise fat and muscle measurements. As the world’s first technology of its kind to receive CE mark for clinical use in Europe, AMRA® Profiler introduces a new global standard in body composition assessment.
“Pfizer Venture Investments invests in emerging companies developing technologies that can enhance Pfizer’s pipeline and shape the future of our industry. AMRA’s disruptive technology offers a personalized medicine approach to identify those at-risk of poor metabolic health outcomes. We are pleased to assist AMRA in making significant progress in this field,” says Bill Burkoth, Executive Director, Pfizer Venture Investments.
AMRA is moving away from body mass index (BMI) and towards the more precise, individualised Body Composition Profile (BCP). The BCP offers markedly improved patient stratification, saving time and money for companies by identifying individuals with equivalent body composition. The high precision of AMRA’s technology supports the early detection of treatment efficacy, making it ideal for clinical trials. As AMRA continues to establish normal values and risk associations, it has the potential to predict the risk of development of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, NASH, sarcopenia, and more.
“One of the great health challenges globally is related to ageing and obesity, and there are over 2.1 billion individuals who are characterised as obese or overweight. AMRA’s approach provides technology to identify different classes of obesity and thereby potentially reveal high metabolic risk profiles. AMRA has the potential to play a vital role for research, clinical development and eventually patient management,” says Søren Møller, Managing Partner, Novo Seeds.
With this new investment, AMRA will establish itself internationally and expand its network amongst leading researchers and pharmaceutical companies, with the aim to support patient stratification in clinical trials, the understanding of treatment effects on body composition, and the detection of early signs of treatment efficacy. The company will also increase its involvement amongst global population cohorts, research institutions, and hospitals. With a strong and expanding internal knowledge base, AMRA is now one step closer to redefining obesity.