10 December 2017

PRESS RELEASE – Sherbrooke-based IMEKA, a provider of medical image processing services, is launching its services in the United States following a round of financing totaling $1 million.

Imeka offers pharmaceutical companies and neurosurgeons a service based on the state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. The company is working in collaboration with a Boston-based pharmaceutical company to develop drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

One of Imeka’s founders, Maxime Descoteaux, professor-researcher in the Computer Science Department at the Science Faculty and the CHUS Research Center, is the holder of the brand new Research in Neuroinformatics. In his research, he works on the mapping of the human brain. « Imeka makes my research available directly to neurosurgeons and pharmaceutical companies to fight brain cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and other brain diseases », says Mr. Descoteaux.

Many investors have contributed to the financing needed for the next steps of the company: Desjardins Capital for $350 000, Innovexport Fund with $300 000, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions with a repayable contribution of $150,000, Sherbrooke Innopole for $ 100 000 through its pre-commercialization fund, as well as Hacking Health Accelerator with $50 000. Private investors completed the round. The funds will be used primarily to fund trade missions to the United States, including California and the Boston-Cambridge area. Imeka will build itself a sales force to accelerate its access to the American market. Another round of funding is planned for early 2019.

« We are very proud to contribute to Imeka’s internationalization with this first investment and we intend to support its growth, said Richard Bordeleau, President of the Innovexport Fund. The quality and relevance of the services offered by Imeka are already recognized by some of the world’s leading health care companies, and there is no doubt that many others will benefit from them to optimize the development of new treatments or clinical solutions for diseases that unfortunately affect a growing number of people. »

The company also benefits from the support of Espace-inc since it’s inception. « The synergy between the various stakeholders in Sherbrooke, including the companies, the Université of Sherbrooke, Espace-inc and Sherbrooke Innopole, allows Imeka to continue its growth by taking advantage of an extensive network of resources, said Jean-René Bélanger, President of Imeka. The strategic position of our company in the Sherbrooke-Boston life sciences passage also makes our business easier, especially in the United States. »

Sources: Imeka, Espace-inc and Sherbrooke Innopole