HONG KONG – South Korea’s venture capital investment in the biopharma and medical sector set a new record in 2019. According to Korea Venture Capital Association (KVCA), local VC firms invested ₩1.1 trillion (US$930 million) over a total of 299 bio and medical ventures last year, representing 25.8% of the total VC investment executed in 2019.

San Francisco-based startup Cloudcath has raised a $12 million series A round to support commercialization of its first product that enables remote, real-time monitoring for at-home peritoneal dialysis patients. The expectation is that the notifications it offers to health care providers will enable earlier intervention to avoid complications, including infection. The Cloudcath system is pending U.S. FDA clearance.

PARIS – Sensome SAS, of Palaiseau, France, has closed a second funding round, of $9 million, with its original French investors (Kurma Partners SA, Invest Partners SA, BNP Paribas Développement SA and the Paris-Saclay Seed Fund), now joined by the Japanese-based Asahi Intecc Co. Ltd.

With an eye toward expanding the reach of its Febridx rapid point-of-care (POC) test, Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Pty. Ltd. has seen the closing of a $15 million series A round from Australia’s Planet Innovation. The funds will back a U.S. FDA pivotal clinical trial, as well as additional development and manufacturing resources for the company’s expanding full-service POC business.