Deciphex’s products use AI-powered digital pathology, with the aim of allowing pathologists to work up to 40pc faster while also maintaining diagnostic accuracy.

Dublin-based medtech start-up Deciphex has today (7 January) found success in a €31m Series C funding round spearheaded by venture capital firm Molten Ventures.

Founded in 2017, Deciphex is based in the Dublin City University (DCU) Alpha campus. The new funds will be used to advance its mission to democratise access to high-quality pathology (the study of disease). The company, which avails of artificial intelligence (AI), aims to achieve this by empowering a technology-enabled global network of pathologists.

The funding round also saw participation from ACT Venture Capital, Seroba, Charles River Laboratories, Irrus Investments, HBAN Medtech Syndicate and Nextsteps Capital.

Donal O’Shea, the founder and CEO of Deciphex, welcomed the investment, and said that it will assist the start-up in accelerating its goal “to transform global pathology access”.

“By expanding this technology worldwide, we’re not just improving healthcare efficiency, we’re supporting both the pathologists who drive diagnoses and the patients who depend on them,” O’Shea asserted.

Molten Ventures’ Inga Deakin expressed her view that Deciphex “is tackling one of healthcare’s most pressing issues”.

She echoed O’Shea by saying that Deciphex offers “a much-needed solution to the diagnostic burden facing pathologists around the world”.

“We’re thrilled to support Deciphex in bringing these critical diagnostic services to those who need it most,” Deakin added.

According to an article published on the National Library of Medicine, it is estimated that 70pc of healthcare decisions affecting diagnosis or treatment require a pathology investigation.

Furthermore, Deciphex maintains that a widening gap between rising patient needs and declining pathologist numbers is leading healthcare systems around the world to contend with unrelenting backlogs. In an attempt to address this dilemma, Deciphex’s products use AI-powered digital pathology, with the aim of allowing pathologists to work up to 40pc faster while also maintaining analytical accuracy.

Last April, Deciphex announced it would partner with Swiss pharma giant Novartis for an AI drug research project. And in October, Deciphex’s chief experience officer, Jenny Fitzgerald, spoke with SiliconRepublic.com to discuss the implications of bringing technology to healthcare, during which she claimed that Ireland is falling behind when it comes to applying AI innovations.

2023 was also a pivotal year for Deciphex, as it was crowned the Irish medtech company of the year by the Irish Medtech Association.

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