Genomics bioinformatics platform developer PierianDx, a Washington University in St Louis spinout, has raised fresh capital to advance its business strategy.
PierianDx, a US-based genomic bioinformatics platform developer founded on Washington University in St Louis research, has closed a $27m series B round co-led by venture capital and private equity firm ATW Partners.
VC firm SJF Ventures co-led the round, with participation from national reference laboratory Arup Laboratories, healthcare provider Inova Health Systems, research services provider RTI International and Health Catalyst Capital.
Arup Laboratories is a nonprofit organisation created by Utah University to investigate disease on the basis of tissue analysis at a microscopic level.
Founded in 2014, PierianDx has created a medical diagnostics platform with informatics software tools that facilitate molecular-level genomic sequencing of the patient’s DNA to determine the best course of treatment.
The software fuses bioinformatics databases with high-throughput sequencing in order to give clinicians granular DNA insights, helping to flag up mutations responsible for disease.
PierianDx is the result of research led by its founder Rakesh Nagarajan, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the university’s School of Medicine.
The company will put the capital towards advancing its growth strategy, both in the US and internationally, working alongside partner genomic sequencing, assay and drug development companies.
PierianDx raised $9.3m in a 2016 series A round led by Health Catalyst Capital and backed by Arup Laboratories, Inova Translational Medicine Institute and Ocean Road Advisors.
The spinout raised $3m in equity and other securities from unnamed investors in February 2018, according to a filing, and its other early investors include early-stage venture firm Album VC.