(Yicai Global) Aug. 30 -- China’s Luca Healthcare, a pioneer in digital biomarkers that allow the remote gathering of data to show a patient’s physiological condition, has secured tens of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to millions of US dollars, in its latest funding round led by Lightspeed China Partners.

Other participants in the pre-A round included Chinese venture capital company Jinding Capital and German tech investment firm Picus Capital, Shanghai-based Luca said today. No further details on the investment were given.

The funds will be used in research and development, in the verification of its existing digital biomarker pipeline, to cooperate with international scientific research bodies and to upgrade its digital biomarker R&D platform, it added.

Data is the core of digital medicine, and precision medicine in the future will be driven by data, said Chief Executive Officer Chen Si. Through its pioneering work on digital biomarkers, Luca will make medical services more efficient and accessible and bring more benefits to patients through technological innovations.

Digital technology innovation will penetrate into all aspects of healthcare, said Gao Jiankai, partner at Lightspeed China. The fundamental and key technology in the field is to dig out disease-related digital biomarkers. Luca’s team has great in-depth knowledge and strong R&D capabilities in this regard, he added.

Luca, which was set up last year, focuses on the development of digital biomarkers in respiratory, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease. It works with a network of big pharmaceutical companies, medical systems and insurance companies, and uses a combination of algorithms and wearable devices to screen, diagnose and treat diseases.

Editor: Kim Taylor