Vision Medicals spotlights $28.8m

China-based precision medicine developer Vision Medicals has closed a RMB200m ($28.8m) series B round featuring Cash Capital, the investment arm of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Money Network reported yesterday.
The round was led by asset management firm CDH Investments and also included Volcanics Venture and CICC Qichen, a subsidiary of investment bank China International Capital Corporation.
Founded in 2018, Vision Medicals develops and produces diagnostic tools that exploit gene editing and metagenomic sequencing, which involves genetic material directly extracted from environmental samples.
Vision Medicals’ research led to the development of a sequencing test for Sars-Cov-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, which has been approved for use in the EU.
The series B cash will be directed to product and operations, building up the company’s clinical inspection centres and funding the registration of new medical devices.  Vision Medicals also hopes to invest in its brand, marketing and service.
The company secured $14m in a 2019 series A round co-led by Cash Capital and Volcanics Venture, according to China Money Network.
Wang Lin, founding partner of CDH Investments, said: “The application of metagenomics technology to pathogen detection has solved the unmet clinical needs, especially in the context of the global outbreak of Covid-19 epidemic this year.
“Whether for monitoring the epidemic or the diagnosis of complex infections., it has produced huge social value.”