Provider of medical automation solutions NewIcon Oy has raised altogether MEUR 2.3 in a financing round that brings in Finnish Industry Investment and Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company as co-investors in the company. This investment will allow the company to further development its automation and robotics products for handling medicines and laboratory equipment, as well as to build an international sales network for them.
The global market potential for health technology is huge, with particularly strong growth foreseen in northern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and China.
“We combine knowhow in hi-tech industrial automation with expertise in applying it to healthcare. We’ve developed our products in collaboration with pharmacies and hospitals. A higher degree of automation can reduce medication errors, improve patient safety and enhance occupational safety. It also allows healthcare personnel to focus more on their work with patients,” explains NewIcon’s CEO Ossi Parviainen.
NewIcon’s products include automated storage systems for medicines and reagents, smart storage cabinets for pharmaceuticals and controlled substances, robots for intravenous antibiotic compounding, sorting robots for sample tubes, and the software for these applications. Thanks to its new automation products, the company has expanded its customer base to include laboratories and nursing homes.
“We are the market leader in the delivery of automated pharmaceutical storage systems in Finland. We will use this investment to launch innovative new products, to grow and to expand internationally,” adds Parviainen.
“The aim of this investment is to boost the development of a new Finnish hi-tech export company. The health technology sector is one of the focal points in our Industrial Renewal investment programme,” comments Heli Ahlroos, Investment Director at Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.
“NewIcon’s modern solutions for pharmacies and hospitals have strong export potential, and Etera is pleased to be involved in creating a springboard for the company’s growth and internationalisation,” points out Etera’s Portfolio Manager Pekka Ahlajärvi.
For more information, please contact:
Ossi Parviainen, CEO, NewIcon
Tel. +358 50 549 7656, ossi.parviainen(at)newicon.fi
Heli Ahlroos, Investment Director, Finnish Industry Investment
Tel. +358 40 077 2833, heli.ahlroos(at)teollisuussijoitus.fi
Pekka Ahlajärvi, Portfolio Manager, Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company
Tel. +358 40 840 3199, pekka.ahlajarvi(at)etera.fi
NewIcon Oy (formerly Newico) is a rapidly-growing health technology company that develops, manufactures and sells innovative automation products and services for handling medicines and laboratory equipment. Founded in 2007 in Kuopio, Finland, the company now employs 31 people and generated net sales of some EUR 3 million in 2013. For more information: www.newicon.fi
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company that promotes Finnish business, employment and economic growth through venture capital and private equity investments. Finnish Industry Investment invests in private equity funds and also directly in growth companies together with private investors and on the same terms as them. The investments of Finnish Industry Investment amount to MEUR 900. Directly and through funds our portfolio currently comprises 510 companies employing over 50,000 people. For more information: www.industryinvestment.com and @TesiFII.
Etera is a mutual pension insurance company operating in the private sector. Its primary mission is to provide pension cover and secure wellbeing at work. Etera’s customers include companies, organisations, small business owners and private households. In 2013, Etera was responsible for safeguarding the pension funds of 206,000 employees and 6,700 entrepreneurs. Etera paid out roughly one billion euros to 145,000 pensioners in the same year. Etera manages pension funds totalling 5.7 billion euros. More about Etera at: www.etera.fi
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