US-based healthcare IT services provider MedCPU raised $35m in a funding round yesterday led by healthcare provider UPMC’s investment unit UPMC Enterprises that also featured pharmaceutical firm Merck’s Global Health Innovation Fund.
The investment comes alongside the news that UPMC intends to purchase a majority stake in MedCPU for an undisclosed sum. UPMC is acquiring the shares from non-employee shareholders and hopes to close the deal in the second quarter of this year.
Founded in 2009, MedCPU operates a platform that analyses electronic medical records and matches them to data on best practices to provide doctors with real-time treatment recommendations. The platform is currently used by more than 60 hospitals.
The funding will be used to drive further expansion. MedCPU will open an office in Pittsburgh and recruit more than 20 new staff who will co-develop new offerings with UPMC and improve existing products.
MedCPU previously closed an $8m round in July 2015, in which Merck Global Health Innovation Fund co-led a $5m equity tranche with VC fund New Richmond Ventures, while Silicon Valley Bank provided $3m in debt financing.
The company also secured $9.3m in a 2014 series B round featuring Merck, New Richmond and Easton Capital Investment Group. It obtained $1.3m in debt financing in 2011 and $300,000 in equity funding in 2013, according to regulatory filings.
Sonia Ben-Yehuda, president and co-founder of MedCPU, said: “We are excited to have UPMC as a majority partner and investor.
“Having access to the clinical, technological and operational expertise of one of the country’s leading integrated healthcare providers and insurance systems will enable MedCPU to rapidly expand our current capabilities and leverage our technology to greatly impact an industry that is moving quickly to value-based care.”