PERTH, Australia – Epi-Minder Pty. Ltd. has completed an oversubscribed series A round of AU$18 million (US$12.89 million) that will see its Minder epilepsy monitoring device enter a pivotal trial to support marketing applications in Europe and the U.S. The smartphone-enabled device promises to improve on wearables and other tools – such as patient diaries – that have proven to be unreliable.

Neocis Inc., which developed the first U.S. FDA-cleared robotic-assisted dental surgery system, has completed a $72 million series D financing led by Dfj Growth. The funds will be used for broader commercialization and future advancements to the Yomi platform. Also participating in the series D round were Vivo Capital and existing investors Mithril Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners, Section 32 and Fred Moll. With this latest capital infusion, Miami-based Neocis has raised a total of $120 million in financing to date.

Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Pty. Ltd. scooped up AU$25 million (US$17.9 million) in an oversubscribed pre-IPO ahead of its anticipated 2021 listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The funds will be used to expand manufacturing operations in California and Florida and to grow the commercial footprint of Febridx, a rapid point-of-care (POC) test that can determine if a person has a viral or bacterial infection within 10 minutes.

The ongoing pandemic brought about several challenges for investors looking for the next big thing, but some areas still have experienced growth. Experts addressed this topic and other issues during a panel discussion Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic’s 2020 Medical Innovation Summit. Moderator Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, health care editor, Business Insider, highlighted a bright spot, noting that by the end of the third quarter, digital health startups were doing well, raising $9.4 billion, according to Rock Health.

COVID-19 has prompted dramatic rethinking of supply chains, health care delivery, regulations, and collaboration that are likely to permanently restructure the med-tech industry, according to industry leaders speaking at a panel during the Advanced Medical Technology Association’s (Advamed) Virtual Medtech Conference on Oct. 6. In addition, the significant increase in debt and strong fundamentals position the industry for a burst of M&A activity.

LONDON – French venture capital firm Kurma Partners has announced the first closing at €50 million (US$58.6 million) of its second fund to be wholly devoted to seed and early stage investment in diagnostics. Kurma Diagnostics 2 (KDx2) will be invested in molecular and digital diagnostics technologies being spun out of universities and research centers across Europe, backing a total of 15 companies.