PingAn Tech Fund joins backers for Israeli infection diagnostic firm MeMed
Funding raised from nine investors will help MeMed expand in China, where its technology can be used to help tackle medical issues, such as battling overprescriptions of antibiotics
PingAn Global Voyager Fund, the US$1 billion global technology investment fund of Ping An Insurance, has joined eight other investors in backing Israeli infection diagnostic tool maker MeMed’s US$70 million series C-round funding, helping the company expand its immune-system based test to China and elsewhere.
Also joining the latest funding round is Horizons Ventures, a Hong Kong-based venture capital fund founded by Solina Chau, who is also a major shareholder of Tom.com and a director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Horizons Ventures has already backed MeMed’s earlier rounds of financing. Other investors in the latest round include a mixture of venture funds and companies, such as Taiwanese contract electronic maker Foxconn, Phoenix Insurance, Israeli crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.
Sources said Ping An Global Voyager Fund has invested US$20 million in MeMed.
The fund seeks out investments in technologies deemed useful to the Ping An Insurance Group, and also helps companies looking to partner with Ping An to gain market access and distribution in China.
Eran Eden, MeMed’s co-founder and chief executive, said the nine-year old company plans to use the funds to expedite commercialisation and adoption of its testing platform, MeMed BV, in China.
“There is a daunting problem of antibiotic misuse in China whereby antibiotics are being prescribed to treat non-bacterial infections, a problem which is presenting major health and financial challenges,” said Eden.
Eden added that antibiotic misuse was a problem affecting the medical community worldwide.