PharmacoPhotonics raises $1.5M for kidney-function device

PharmacoPhotonics Inc. has raised $1.5 million in equity to develop a device that measures kidney function, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company’s device can provide a measure of the kidney’s function, or glomerular filtration rate (GFR), in 15 to 30 minutes, according to an earlier press release. Current methods of determining GFR either provide a rough estimate or require collecting a patient’s urine samples over a 24-hour period.

The Indianapolis-based company is a spinoff of Indiana University’s Center for Biological Microscopy and was incorporated in 2006.

“There is a big clinical need for this in the hospital,” Center Director Dr. Bruce Molitoris said in the release. “We can’t tell the kidney function of a patient during acute kidney injury in a rapid fashion that would allow us to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.”

The fundraise comes from 20 investors, with a $5,000 minimum investment amount, according to the regulatory document. PharmacoPhotonics received the funding commitments over about a year, with the first sale occurring in June 2009.

Without an apparent website, it’s tough to know more than that about PharmacoPhotonics.

CEO Joe Muldoon didn’t immediately return a call.