(Press Release) Adavium Medical announced the acquisitions of Alka Tecnologia and Hemogram Industria e Comercio, two of the largest clinical diagnostic companies in Brazil, transforming the company into the largest Brazilian medical equipment and diagnostics company as measured by sales and number of customers across both specialties.

The company, formerly known as ADVANCE Medical, also announced that it has raised $21 million in a Series C financing from new investors, including CVF, LLC, an affiliate of Henry Crown and Company, and all of its existing major investors, including Venrock, Aberdare Ventures and Arboretum Ventures. The new funds are expected to finance these and other acquisitions, and to strengthen strategic capabilities throughout the company.

“We bring commercial sophistication and scale to one of the largest and most complex healthcare markets in the world,” said Fred Aslan, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Adavium Medical. “We have spent the past several years evaluating and acquiring the best Brazilian companies that, together with our team and capabilities, would create the undisputed commercial and manufacturing leader. We are now the partner of choice for international companies with premium products. We also develop and manufacture proprietary products that bring the benefits of high-end technologies to the very large, but often ignored, value segment of the Brazilian market that requires affordable products. As a result, a number of our product lines lead in market share.”

The company operates two divisions: medical devices, focused on esthetics, dermatology, plastic surgery, vascular surgery and gynecology; and clinical diagnostics, offering equipment and reagents used by clinical laboratories. Both markets are $1 billion markets individually, with substantial growth potential driven by demographics and broadening access to healthcare services.

The Company also announced that Claudia Goulart, former CEO of GE Healthcare for Latin America, has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer and President of the Diagnostics division. Claudia has served on Adavium Medical’s Board of Directors since 2013. Prior to GE Healthcare, Claudia held senior leadership roles in a number of private equity-backed companies, including serving as Chief Financial Officer at IG (Internet Group do Brasil) and Ferrovia Centro Atlantica.

“As a board member, I have witnessed Adavium Medical’s growth from a start-up to the Brazilian leader in medical equipment and diagnostics and I am thrilled to assume a full-time leadership role,” said Goulart. “We are building an integrated product development and commercial platform able to bring the right portfolio to the largest number of customers in Brazil in a highly professional, ethical and FCPA-compliant manner.”

With a population of more than 200 million, Brazil is the third largest private healthcare market in the world, behind only the US and China. The Brazilian healthcare market is estimated at $120 billion, with a 10-year historical growth rate of almost 20 percent, and is expected to continue growing rapidly due to demographics. Driving that growth are Brazil’s baby boomers aged 65-plus, whose population has been growing three times faster than in the US.