Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems Raises Series B Growth Funding

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For Immediate Release
June 20, 2017

Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems Raises Series B Growth Funding

Investment to support next-generation diabetic population health management 

PENSACOLA, Fla.—June 20, 2017Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems, Inc. (IRIS), the industry leader in early detection systems for diabetic eye disease, today announced the company successfully closed a round of Series B financing. The round was led by Ballast Point Ventures, a later-stage venture capital and growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing, privately owned companies in the health care and technology industries. The round also includes investments from two healthcare system funds, Providence Ventures and current IRIS customer, CoxHealth. Funds raised will be used to support the company’s expansion and growth strategy as well as to support IRIS’s goal of developing the next generation of products that detect eye disease and improve the monitoring and care of patients in diabetic populations.

“IRIS was founded with the idea that through innovative and forward-thinking preventative care systems, we could save the sight of millions of patients,” said IRIS Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sunil Gupta. “Everyone deserves a lifetime of sight. I am pleased that Ballast Point Ventures, Providence Ventures and CoxHealth have joined IRIS to improve the lives of patients with diabetes and see the value in our goal to develop the next generation of solutions.” 

“With the capital from this financing, IRIS will be able to build on its leading position in the market while continuing to innovate and serve its forward-thinking health system clients,” said Matt Rice, Partner at Ballast Point Ventures. “We are excited to partner with Dr. Sunil Gupta, Jason Crawford, and the entire IRIS team to execute on the company’s mission of ending preventable blindness.”

“IRIS is emblematic of Providence Ventures’ investment strategy. Our fund’s interest was driven by deep insights collected from our Providence St. Joseph Health operating colleagues, and their enthusiasm regarding IRIS’s diverse and important value proposition. Providence St. Joseph Health’s clinical leaders are excited about the potential of the IRIS solution to dramatically enhance our ability to care for diabetic patients,” added Jeff Stolte, Partner at Providence Ventures. 

“CoxHealth and IRIS have developed a partnership that has produced meaningful outcomes for our patients,” said Jake McWay, Senior Vice President and CFO of CoxHealth. “In recognition of the results we achieved over the last year, we were jointly awarded a 2017 Microsoft Health Innovation Award. We are excited to see the impact of this expansion and investment, and believe great things are ahead for this collaboration.” 

The IRIS retinal telemedicine platform was developed to help end preventable, permanent blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy through early diagnosis. The IRIS platform is in place at 94 health systems across 28 states. IRIS seamlessly sits within a primary care physician’s existing workflow, dramatically increasing a health system’s ability to achieve superior annual diabetic retinopathy compliance rates. IRIS enables health systems to increase access, improve care coordination, lower costs and achieve 5-Star outcomes. In four years, IRIS clients have examined 183,498 patients with diabetes and found sight-threatening disease in nearly 31,624. One-third of the patients examined with the IRIS technology have been diagnosed with some form of retinal pathology.

“Great strides have been made to unseat diabetic retinopathy as the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The only barrier to success is early detection. IRIS closes the care gap for those patients that do not receive annual diabetic retinal exams. This investment will allow IRIS’s committed team and partners to execute to our vision of preventing blindness both here in the U.S. and worldwide,” added Dr. Gupta.

“Ballast Point Ventures, Providence Ventures and CoxHealth bring a deep understanding of the importance of population health management,” said IRIS CEO, Jason Crawford. “This investment will help us continue to improve the infrastructure, technology and services we deliver to our customers. It will lead to innovation that will place IRIS in a strong position to fuel the future of our product and improve the lives of every patient with diabetes that we touch.”

Matt Rice from Ballast Point Ventures and Jeff Stolte from Providence Ventures will join the IRIS Board of Directors, and Dr. C. Mark Costley, M.D. of CoxHealth will serve as Chair of IRIS’s newly established Clinical Advisory Board.

IRIS was advised by Ziegler, a healthcare-focused investment bank headquartered in Chicago, Ill.

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About Ballast Point Ventures

Ballast Point Ventures is a later-stage venture capital fund established to provide expansion capital for rapidly growing, privately owned companies in diverse industries, with a particular emphasis on companies located in the Southeast and Texas. The BPV partners have more than 70 years of combined experience investing in and building high-growth companies in a number of industries, including healthcare, business services, communications, technology, financial services and consumer. BPV has $360 million under management and seeks to make equity investments ranging in size from $4 million to $12 million. www.ballastpointventures.com

About Providence Ventures and Providence St. Joseph Health

Providence Ventures was founded in 2014 to manage a $150 million venture capital fund on behalf of Providence St. Joseph Health. Providence Ventures aims to drive innovation across the health care system to improve quality and convenience, lower cost and create better health outcomes. Providence St. Joseph Health is a new organization created by Providence Health & Services and St. Joseph Health with the goal of improving the health of the communities it serves, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. Together, its 111,000 caregivers (all employees) serve in 50 hospitals, 829 clinics and a comprehensive range of services across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

About CoxHealth
CoxHealth is the only locally owned, not-for-profit health system based in Springfield, Mo., and is nationally accredited by DNV GL – Healthcare. Established in 1906, the organization serves a 25-county service area in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, offering a comprehensive array of primary and specialty care through five hospitals and more than 80 clinics. CoxHealth also serves the unmet needs of its friends and neighbors by providing more than $148 million annually in community benefit. The health system includes Cox Medical Center South, Cox Medical Center Branson, Cox North Hospital, Meyer Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital, Cox Monett Hospital, Oxford HealthCare (the nation’s second largest hospital-based home health agency), Home Parenteral Services (home infusion therapy), CoxHealth Foundation, Cox College, Cox HealthPlans and more.

About Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems

Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS) is the industry leader in early detection systems for diabetic eye disease. The company’s IRIS solution is an end-to-end FDA-cleared, telemedicine system that has improved quality, expanded access and reduced costs for diabetic retinopathy exams across the U.S. IRIS was founded in 2011 by nationally recognized retina surgeon Dr. Sunil Gupta, with a vision to end preventable blindness through the development and deployment of retinal diagnostic services in the primary care setting. The IRIS team of physicians, technicians and best practice client success experts partner with forward-thinking providers and payers to enhance patient outcomes by closing care gaps in healthcare systems. IRIS is the recipient of the 2017 Microsoft Innovation Award and the 2016 Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award in Diabetic Retinopathy. For additional information, visit www.retinalscreenings.com.

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