Enviral Tech, a biotechnology company focused on environmental viral surveillance solutions including COVID surface testing, today announced the close of $1.5M in seed funding, which enables the company to meet growing demands from the long-term care facilities, schools, and business marketplaces. The round was led by Oregon technology and healthcare venture capital fund, Rogue Venture Partners, with additional investments from Cascade Seed Fund and private investors.
Caroline Lewis, Managing Partner of Rogue Venture Partners, said, "We invested in Enviral Tech because of the high caliber management team, the massive demand for easy and available surface testing to accelerate our ability to live and work safely, and because we could add value as a firm given our connections in the industry. It's great to be invested in a company led by scientists, that is part of our society and economic solution to move forward."
The new capital will help drive not only the increased awareness of Enviral Tech's coronavirus surface and air testing capabilities, but also will propel the company's research and development for the next generation of environmental viral detection solutions. Enviral Tech continues to invest in the advancement of new methods and technologies that will aid in viral surveillance, including innovative air testing systems and environmental testing for influenza. To date, Enviral Tech's subscription-based service has processed upwards of 20,000 coronavirus surface tests in more than 100 facilities nationwide and intervened in over 100 potential COVID-19 outbreaks.
"We found that in a short amount of time, Enviral Tech has made an impact on how long-term care facilities approach slowing the spread of COVID-19," said Julie Harrelson, Managing Director of Cascade Seed Fund. "We are a proud investor in this female-led company and look forward to the company leveraging the business and technical acumen of the team in expanding its capabilities alongside changing market needs."
Coinciding with this rapid marketplace growth, Enviral Tech has added key members to its leadership and sales teams. This includes the appointment of David Fong as Vice President of Marketing. Previously, Fong served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Aviacode, a nationwide provider of medical coding and audit services for medical facilities that has seen year-over-year growth in its adoptions by health systems, hospitals and physician groups nationwide. In all, he brings more than 20 years of marketing leadership experience in healthcare, education and business services.
The company also welcomed Micah Kimbro as Director of Sales of Enviral Tech. Micah previously worked as a Senior Account Manager at Urgo Medical North America, a medical device company serving hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies.
"As visitors are welcomed back into nursing homes and students return to in-school learning, there is an increased need for a community-level response, otherwise we run the risk of widespread infections and repeated closures," said Dr. Shula Jaron, CEO and Co-Founder of Enviral Tech. "Access to affordable environmental testing allows businesses to test on a frequent basis, detect COVID-19 early, conduct contact tracing, and isolate the carrier before the virus spreads on a mass scale. We believe environmental testing will play a pivotal role in ensuring public safety amidst the country's efforts to return to a sense of normalcy. We are dedicated to continuous innovation and look forward to providing these technologies to communities."
Earlier this year, Enviral Tech led the largest study focusing on COVID-19 outbreak prevention in long-term care communities. The study involved 52 communities across six states and tested the efficiency of surface testing for early outbreak warning. During this time, more than 2,600 individual samples were taken from more than 600 surfaces, which resulted in 34.6% of facilities showing a positive test result on at least one surface. As a result of the surface testing, four potential outbreaks were detected, with one identified a full week before any other method would have provided warning. To read the full white paper, please visit https://lpage.enviraltech.com/covid-19-in-ltc-white-paper
To learn more about Enviral Tech or to order COVID surface testing solutions, please visit www.enviraltech.com.
ABOUT ENVIRAL TECH
Enviral Tech is a biotechnology company focused on environmental viral building surveillance solutions. Enviral Tech's patented COVID surface testing and COVID air testing provide early coronavirus detection for the health of communities, by preventing new infections and improving business and consumer confidence. Founded in March 2020, Enviral Tech has processed upwards of 20,000 coronavirus surface tests in more than 100 facilities nationwide. For more information, please visit www.enviraltech.com.
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SOURCE Enviral Tech