CYTOO Raises 10 M$ (7M€) in Series C Round

CYTOO SA, a company that specializes in cell-based assays, is pleased to announce the closing of a series C funding round of USD 10M (EUR 7M). New investors, Sham and Entrepreneurs Fund (EF), led the round. Existing investors AURIGA Partners and Jacques Lewiner, co-founder and president of the supervisory board at CYTOO, also participated.

CYTOO will use the financing to fully exploit its fast growing business within the global market of cellbased assays and screening, and bring the company up to profitability. Having the potential to lead the next innovation wave in cell-based drug discovery and in vitro toxicology, CYTOO is already on the radar screen of several key industrial actors.

“We are very excited about joining CYTOO as it enters a new phase in its development,” says Olivier Szymkowiak, Chief Investment Officer at Sham. “There is an exceptional opportunity for CYTOO to revolutionize the cell culture for low and high throughput applications,” added Maciek Drozdz, Investment Manager at EF and future Supervisory Board member.

Leveraging its exclusive technology of adhesive micropatterning, CYTOO’s products and services bring robustness, sensitivity and powerful quantification to cell-based assays, high content analysis and cell screening for the life science research market.

CYTOO holds an exclusive worldwide license from the Institut Curie and the CNRS (The French national scientific research center) for the adhesive micropattern patent portfolio, as well as license agreements with Harvard University (USA) and CEA, the largest government-funded technological research organization in France.

“This funding represents a strong achievement in the young history of CYTOO: the company has now the financial means for turning its technological advantage into a commercial success. A shift that the company has already initiated with the commitment of existing investors and our support through the expertise of Jacques Mallet, partner at Auriga Partners” added Franck Lescure, partner at Auriga Partners and member of the supervisory board at CYTOO.

François Chatelain, CEO of CYTOO, commented: “I am excited to lead the company and thrilled to close our series C financing round with a renowned international venture capital investors syndicate. We are welcoming Entrepreneurs Fund and Sham who bring their high level experience in building up successful biotech and medtech companies, we are also pleased with the continued commitment of our historical investors. Together we are looking to move our business and technology onto the next level of growth.”

CYTOO was advised for its capital raising by Silver Ocean Ventures’ Managing Partner Dr John Tchelingerian.

Via EPR Network
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GenQual Announces Initial Closing Of Its First Preferred Equity Funding Round

GenQual is pleased to announce initial closing of its first preferred equity round. Financial terms were not disclosed. This inaugural funding round allows GenQual to pursue proof-of-principle testing for its companion diagnostic approach for IL-6 mAb and other JAK/STAT inhibitors for autoimmune diseases and oncology indications. GenQual aims to prospectively identify responders for clinical-stage therapeutics to improve drug trial response rates and improve chances for drug approval. The round remains open for further funding.

GenQual Founder and CEO Jonathan Mirich said, “This funding round allows GenQual to pursue its business development goals to deliver companion diagnostics for very expensive IL-6 monoclonal antibody treatment for autoimmune disease, chiefly rheumatoid arthritis, as well as certain oncology indications. It allows us to extend collaborative agreements for proof-of-principle testing. We are very excited about the possibilities in this space.”

About GenQual
GenQual develops proprietary biomarker diagnostics for autoimmune and oncology indications. Our personalized medicine products are designed to facilitate early disease detection and diagnosis, and to improve treatment approaches at the molecular level. GenQual is a privately-held corporation based in the Seattle area.

Via EPR Network
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Michigan Institute of Urology, P. C. to Perform Clinical Trial Using Cellay, Inc’s Same Day OligoFISH® Probes for Prostate Cancer

St. Clair Shores, Michigan and Cambridge, Massachusetts – Michigan Institute of Urology, P. C. (MIU) and Cellay, Inc. today announced that MIU will exclusively perform a clinical trial for prostate cancer using Cellay’s Same Day OligoFISH® probe panel. Data from this trial will be included in Cellay’s premarket approval (PMA) application for submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This novel, non-invasive screening test is designed to detect chromosomal abnormalities in prostate cells obtained in a urine sample after a digital rectal exam. This investigational use test uses fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology to detect chromosome gains and losses which have been associated with prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in males in the United States, and there are approximately 200,000 new cases diagnosed annually and 38,000 deaths per year. However, due to inaccuracies of the current screening method, the PSA blood test, more than 600,000 invasive biopsies are performed annually. The ability to differentiate non-aggressive from aggressive, metast atic prostate cancers has been a continuous clinical and diagnostic challenge. Cellay expects that the clinical trial will demonstrate that its rapid non-invasive, Same Day OligoFISH® panels will improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment using a cost effective, patient friendly assay.

Alphonse M. Santino, M.D., CEO and a Founder of MIU, noted, “MIU is pleased to be the exclusive clinical trial site for Cellay’s Same Day OligoFISH® probe panels for prostate cancer for its PMA submittal. Our relationship with Cellay reinforces our commitment to the people of Michigan to provide the most effective diagnosis and treatment for urological disorders and disease. This is an important relationship for us and our community, since African-Americans are 3.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than the rest of the male population. Moreover, this group presents with the aggressive type of prostate cancer at an earlier age with higher rates of mortality.”

“Cellay appreciates that MIU has committed to serve as exclusive site for the clinical trial of our Same Day OligoFISH® probe panels for prostate cancer. MIU’s physicians’ group is recognized as one of the nation’s premier urology practices and sets the standard for diagnosis and treatment of urologic disorders. Cellay welcomes MIU’s support and participation in this novel clinical trial,” said Ed O’Lear, President & CEO of Cellay.

About Michigan Institute of Urology
As one of the oldest and largest sub-specialty Urology practices in Michigan, MIU is dedicated to providing its patients the most up to date, state of the art urologic care. Its specialists have joined MIU from the most respected research universities and hospitals in the United States.

About Cellay
Cellay is a privately held, manufacturer of Same Day OligoFISH® probes for high complexity, physician owned laboratories, which contract with Cellay to manufacture and supply individual probes or multiple probes of the laboratories’ choice pursuant to FDA and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations. Cellay is registered with the FDA.

About FISH
FISH is an established cytogenetic technique that is used to detect and localize the presence or absence of specific DNA sequences on chromosomes. FISH uses fluorescent probes that bind to only those parts of the chromosome with which they show a high degree of sequence complementarity. Same Day OligoFISH® probes were introduced in 2007 and hybridize extremely fast with much higher analytical sensitivity and penetrability in cells and tissues than traditional probes.

Via EPR Network
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