Likvor new LinkMed portfolio company

LinkMed is investing SEK 4 million in the medtech company Likvor AB, which will thereby become the 12th company in LinkMed’s portfolio. Likvor is developing an instrument to measure cerebrospinal fluid pressure. The company is currently carrying out a multi-center study at five university hospitals in Sweden and Denmark.

Cerebrospinal fluid is the fluid found in the cavity of the brain and the spinal channel. Patients with changes in the pressure of this fluid often show different symptoms, such as changes in personality, dementia, disturbances in balance, irritation, headaches and vomiting. The pressure can be evened out by operating a shunt into the brain.

Today, there are no commercially available methods for measuring cerebrospinal fluid in a safe and successful way. As a rule, patients with problems related to high pressure are identified in healthcare checkups. However, patients with normal or low pressure sometimes experience symptoms such as disturbance in balance or dementia-like symptoms and are harder to identify.

The Västerbotten county council and the institution of clinical neuroscience at Umeå University, have carried out extensive research on the measurement of pressure in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. This has resulted in an instrument that can safely and effectively measure cerebrospinal fluid pressure. The instrument has been used on more than 1,000 patients at the Umeå University Hospital, creating valuable clinical material.

Likvor AB, established by Uminova Invest in 2007, has acquired the instrument and related patents in order to develop a commercial product. The company is currently carrying out a multi-center study at five university hospitals in Sweden and Denmark, which will form the basis for the commercial design of the product. It is estimated that clinical work will be completed at the end of 2007, after which the results will be compiled and analyzed.

LinkMed’s investment is being made in conjunction with a new share issue from Likvor for a total of SEK 5.5 million to finance this development work. LinkMed is investing SEK 4 million and as a result will have an ownership stake of 49 percent in the company. The investment is pending certain conditions.



For additional information please contact:
Ingemar Lagerlöf, CEO LinkMed , +46 8 508 939 93