University of Tartu acquires a stake in cancer diagnostic solution developer Better Medicine for intellectual property

Better Medicine, a developer of cancer diagnostic solutions, has sold its stake in the company to UniTartu Ventures (the holding company of the University of Tartu) in exchange for intellectual property. Over the next two years, the University of Tartu will transfer the intellectual property created during research and development to Better Medicine.

Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the University of Tartu by Priit Salumaa, Helena Ije, Bohdan Petrisak, Martin Reim, and Dmitry Fishman, Better Medicine has developed various organ-based AI models, including a certified kidney model that helps radiologists detect and classify CT scan results faster. The company has also developed a lung model trained on a database of over 1,200 patients. With this technology, specialists can detect cancer cells in a patient's lung CT scan.

The startup has also developed a viewer that makes it easier for radiologists to work with AI results. The company offers customers automated reporting and anonymization/pseudonymization capabilities, making it easy to integrate the product into clinical workflows.

The startup's customers include healthcare institutions, universities, and partner companies. Better Medicine has offices in Tallinn, Tartu, and Leeds (UK).

UniTartu Ventures typically makes early-stage deep tech VC investments in Tartu-based startups and spin-offs. The focus is on life sciences, processing and computing, food technology, agritech, energy, cleantech, and infrastructure. The CEO is Mart Maasik. Better Medicine is the first portfolio company of UniTartu Ventures, in which the University of Tartu is acquiring a stake as part of a long-term research and development collaboration.