SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juno Diagnostics (JunoDx), a company focused on improving access to vital genetic health information and led by industry experts, announced today the closing of an expanded Series A financing round of $25 million led by the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture (PXV) Fund. The capital will be used to support clinical validation studies, product development, and commercial launch of JunoDx’s product offerings for noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT).
“We are excited to partner with investors who share our vision of enabling access to highly accurate, cost-effective prenatal genetic testing solutions,” said Dirk van den Boom, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JunoDx. “This funding allows us to advance the development of our clinical technology platform and rapidly bring our lead product to market. We are dedicated to bringing the most advanced and cost-effective NIPT solution to market in support of millions of families along their pregnancy journey.”
With its lead product, JunoDx is ushering in the next generation of noninvasive prenatal tests. The Company’s NIPT solution simplifies sample collection and improves access to high quality genetic testing results without the high cost, long lead times, and phlebotomy requirements of traditional NIPT. Recent endorsements by professional medical societies have recognized the use of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as the most sensitive and specific screening test for common fetal aneuploidies for all pregnant women, which drastically expands the addressable market.
“With a highly experienced and motivated team, JunoDx is positioned to become the cfDNA testing market leader driven by a sea change in reimbursement and democratizing access via technology innovation,” said Chris Garabedian, Chief Executive Officer of Xontogeny and Manager of the PXV Fund for Perceptive Advisors. “We are excited to announce this investment to support the JunoDx team in their mission to address the unmet need for cost-effective genetic testing solutions. The team at Perceptive Advisors is confident in the abilities of the JunoDx team to validate and commercialize best-in-class products to provide customers with access to highly accurate genetic testing.”
JunoDx was founded by an experienced team who developed and launched the industry’s first NIPT product while at Sequenom. The Series A financing was closed following the generation of a differentiated product offering and collection of promising clinical data. JunoDx is led by Dirk van den Boom Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Mathias Ehrich M.D., Chief Scientific Officer, and Jim Chauvapun, Chief Operations Officer. The Board of Directors comprises Chris Garabedian, Fred Callori, SVP Corporate Development at Xontogeny and Partner in PXV Fund, Dirk van den Boom, and Jim Chauvapun.
About Juno Diagnostics
Juno Diagnostics is developing genetic testing solutions to improve access to vital health information. The Company’s lead product is an NIPT solution that simplifies sample collection and improves access to high quality genetic testing results without the high cost, long lead times, and phlebotomy requirements of traditional NIPT. The founding team worked together at Sequenom, Inc., pioneering the development and commercialization of the first noninvasive cell-free DNA based prenatal test in the United States. For more information, visit www.junodx.com.
The Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds
The Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds are Perceptive Advisors investment vehicles focused purely on early-stage, private venture investments in life sciences companies. Primary investments for the Funds include companies that are seeking a lead investor for Series A financings, which include both companies that are seeded and incubated at Xontogeny and companies that are seeded and incubated by other organizations, accelerators and seed investors. The PXV Funds are also open to participating in syndicated Series A financings as a co-lead or passive investor with other venture capital firms. For more information, visit www.perceptivelife.com.
