CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exosome Diagnostics, Inc., a developer of revolutionary, biofluid-based molecular diagnostics, today announced the completion of an additional $17.6 million round of financing in an extension of its Series B financing, bringing the total Series B financing raise to $44.7 million. Participating investors in this second Series B round included Forbion Capital Partners, NGN Capital, Arcus Ventures, Tiger Management and CD Ventures.
“We’re extremely pleased to close this second round of our Series B financing, as it well positions us to successfully transition to a commercial-stage company that will deliver breakthrough cancer diagnostics to dramatically enhance physicians’ ability to make informed treatment decisions based on comprehensive, real-time molecular insights,” said Thomas McLain, chief executive officer of Exosome Diagnostics. “These funds also will enable us to drive our next generation of cancer diagnostics and, importantly, begin expanding into other disease areas, potentially bringing the benefits of exosome-based molecular diagnostics to patients across a broad spectrum of indications and medical needs.”
Anticipated Use of Second Round Series B Funds
Exosome Diagnostics expects to use the second round Series B funds to support a number of commercial and development efforts, including:
- 2015 commercial launch of two blood-based lung cancer liquid biopsies and a urine-based prostate cancer liquid biopsy. Through detecting the presence of ALK and T790M mutations, respectively, the company’s lung cancer tests are designed to help clinicians match patients to appropriate targeted therapies or clinical trials and avoid therapies to which patients are not likely to respond. The prostate cancer liquid biopsy test is designed to reduce unnecessary biopsies by accurately predicting which patients do not have high-grade prostate cancer. These liquid biopsies will launch as laboratory developed tests (LDTs) in the company’s certified CLIA laboratory.
- 2015 commercial launch of solid tumor panel. The solid tumor panel that will launch this year enables rapid identification of patients who are eligible for clinical trials, as well as longitudinal and serial molecular monitoring throughout the clinical trial process. The panel targets 26 of the most important genes and approximately 1000 associated mutations in the most significant pathways implicated in lung, colon and breast cancers, including EGFR/MAPK and PI3K. The panel, which will initially be made available to pharmaceutical companies as a clinical development tool, will also launch as an LDT in the company’s certified CLIA laboratory.
- Development and planned 2016 launch of next-generation solid tumor panel. The next-generation solid tumor panel is being developed to detect 88 genes and thousands of associated mutations. With this panel, Exosome Diagnostics will be able to analyze plasma from cancer patients for all known mutations addressed by molecular oncology products both on the market and in clinical development.
- Development of diagnostic tests for neurodegenerative diseases. Unlike other liquid biopsy platforms that only have applicability for oncology indications, Exosome Diagnostics’ platform, which isolates and analyzes exosomal RNA (exoRNA), can be utilized to develop diagnostics across a broad spectrum of diseases. To that end, the second round Series B funds will support the early development of diagnostic tests for neurodegenerative diseases.
About Exosome Diagnostics Tests and Exosome-Based Platform
Exosomes are messengers released by all living cells into biofluids, such as plasma/serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and saliva. Exosomes contain RNA, DNA and proteins from their cell of origin. Exosome Diagnostics’ proprietary technology platform can achieve real-time access to comprehensive molecular information about cells in the body without direct access to the actual cells. The company’s liquid biopsy tests for cancer analyze exosomal RNA (exoRNA) for biomarkers. Its technology platform is uniquely versatile, offering the additional capability to simultaneously isolate and analyze exoRNA and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to enhance detection of rare mutations. Because it is exosome-based, Exosome Diagnostics’ core technology platform can be used to develop molecular tests not only for cancer, but potentially also for a number of non-cancer indications, including inflammatory, metabolic, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, among other diseases.
About Exosome Diagnostics
Exosome Diagnostics is a privately held company focused on developing and commercializing revolutionary biofluid-based diagnostics to deliver personalized precision healthcare that improves lives. The company’s novel exosome-based technology platform can yield comprehensive and dynamic molecular insights to transform how cancer and other serious diseases are detected, diagnosed, treated and monitored. Visit www.exosomedx.com to learn more.
