Vida Diagnostics

VIDA Diagnostics, Inc. (VIDA) is a pulmonary imaging informatics company based in Coralville, Iowa, with an additional office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company develops quantitative CT image analysis software together with associated image-analysis services that aid the early detection, evaluation and treatment planning of lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema, asthma, interstitial lung disease and lung cancer.

The product portfolio has been marketed under the VIDA|vision brand together with "Precision Services" image analysis, and later under the LungPrint solution suite. For suspected lung cancer patients, the software provides interventional pulmonologists with airway mapping to guide a path for bronchoscopic biopsy; for severe emphysema patients, it supplies clinically validated quantitative measures intended to inform treatment selection. The company's core technology was licensed from the University of Iowa Research Foundation and derives from research associated with the university's Iowa Comprehensive Lung Imaging Center. VIDA has also been a repeat recipient of NIH SBIR awards, with five Phase I and two Phase II awards totaling about $2.9 million through 2016 on projects covering airway navigation, pulmonary lobar analysis, CT assessment of pulmonary parenchyma, and quantitative low-dose CT for pulmonary disease evaluation and lung cancer detection.

Founding story

VIDA's core technology was licensed from the University of Iowa Research Foundation and built on research associated with the University of Iowa's Iowa Comprehensive Lung Imaging Center. Joseph Reinhardt is listed as founder and director, and Eric Hoffman as a former president.

Business model

VIDA combines licensed clinical software (VIDA|vision, later the LungPrint suite) with fee-based image analysis services, selling into clinical pulmonary care as well as academic, medical device and pharmaceutical clinical trial settings. Non-dilutive NIH SBIR grant funding has supplemented equity financing.

Revenue derives from clinical imaging software and associated per-case/analysis services; a company registry entry places annual revenue in the $1.5-2 million range as of a 2017 profile update.

Traction

Products are FDA cleared, CE-marked, Health Canada licensed and TGA registered and described as routinely used in clinical practice and in clinical trials. Reference customers include University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (2016). Cumulative NIH SBIR awards totaled roughly $2.9 million, and cumulative disclosed equity financing includes $5.1 million (2016) and an $11 million Series C initial close (2020).

Latest developments

In March 2020 VIDA announced the initial close of an $11 million Series C financing led by First Analysis Corporation, with participation from Blue Heron Capital, UnityPoint Health Ventures and existing investors, earmarked for accelerating commercialization and expanding the clinical portfolio of its LungPrint solution suite.