Heuron to raise pre-IPO in 1Q21 to boost clinical AI solutions; aiming KOSDAQ IPO in 2022 – CFO 

Heuron, a South Korean AI (Artifcial Intelligence) healthcare company, plans to raise between KRW10bn (USD 8.5m) – KRW 20bn (USD 17.1m) in a pre-IPO round in 1Q21 to gear up its diagnosis solution business for neurological disorders on a global scale, according to CFO Shin Myung-jin.

The company, which develops AI software that analyzes neurological disorders mainly from CT and MRI imaging, welcomes global healthcare and pharmaceuticals players in this round. It would mainly use the proceeds to begin the clinical trials in the US and Europe for its AI-driven Parkinson’s disease and brain stroke diagnosis software, he added. 

It raised KRW 15.3bn of Series B from domestic investors such as HB Investment, Log Investment, domestic medicine ingredients developer Estechpharma [KOSDAQ:041910], Korea Investment &Securities along with existing shareholders MEGA Investment and Aju IB Investment this July, as announced.

As a result, the company secured KRW 18.3bn funding up to date. It received KRW 60.3bn post-money valuation in this internally-held funding, he added. 

The company has hired Korea Investment & Securities to go public in the future, local media reported.

Heuron plans to float on the KOSDAQ market in early 2022, Shin said confirming the mandate. Heuron would also consider a buyout offer from global healthcare and biotech companies after the listing since it will aggressively seek to scale up its business , he said. 

The latest fundraise will be used for R&D and clinical trials to commercialize the medical device by early next year, Shin noted. 

Its flagship mPDia not only assists early diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease but also predicts its pathological tracking and prognosis, according to its website. This software obtained approval as the medical device by South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety this July and that allows the clinical trials for detection of Parkinson’s diseases in the country, the company earlier announced. 

It has been carrying out clinical trials at 10 university hospitals and expects to get a final approval for South Korea this month, according to Shin.  

It expects to generate about KRW 2bn of sales next year after the commercialization, he said.  

While distributing its software to medical centers, Heuron plans to license out its product to a pharmaceutical company that requires biomarkers in developing neurological treatments, he added. 

Its peers are local AI healthcare companies such as JLK Inspection [KOSDAQ:322510], Lunit, Vuno, and DeepBio, continued Shin. The privately - held Lunit, Vuno and DeepBio have been workingtowards for KOSDAQ IPO with local lead managers, as reported.

Heuron was established in 2017. CEO Shin Dong-hoon is the largest shareholder with over 50%,according to its IR document. Shin also is a neurologist at Gachon University Gil Medical Center located in Incheon, South Korea. 

by Jenny Lee in Seoul 

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