Immonogenomics blood test developer OncoCell, a Harvard Medical School spinout, has increased its total funding to $30m.
OncoCell MDx, a US-based immunogenomics diagnostics test developer spun out of Harvard Medical School, has obtained $22.2m in a series B round led by family office Savitr Capital that involved unnamed existing investors.
OncoCell MDx is developing non-invasive liquid biopsies for diseases including prostate cancer that can provide a diagnosis from a single blood draw while also indicating the extent of the target disease’s progression.
The assays examine transcription levels between phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells to distinguish healthy patients from those with indolent or aggressive disease.
In the case of prostate cancer, OncoCell hopes to support recurring examinations of patients to help determine disease progression and establish whether surgery or radiation therapy is appropriate.
The series B proceeds will reinforce OncoCell’s finances and fuel continued product development ahead of the launch of its prostate cancer test in 2020.
The spinout advances research pioneered by its founder Amin Kassis, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and director for radiation biology and experimental radionuclide therapy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
OncoCell MDx has now raised $30m altogether, it said, however details of its earlier funding do not appear to have been disclosed.
