Stroke diagnosis startup IschemiaCare gets nearly $1M Ohio loan

A startup that’s hoping to be the first to commercialize a blood test that can diagnose the cause of stroke has received a state loan for nearly $1 million.

The $943,000 in financing for Cincinnati-area IschemiaCare comes through the Innovation Ohio Loan Fund program, which is aimed at helping companies in the state develop “next-generation” products.

IschemiaCare‘s project funded through the loan is expected to create 22 jobs, according to the Ohio Department of Development. The state recently has stopped providing anything beyond the most of basic of details about the projects it finances.

IschemiaCare CEO Jeff June declined comment when reached by email.

In September, June said the company had closed on $800,000 of a $1.1 million series B round of investment he hoped to complete by the end of the year. IschemiaCare plans to use the investment to establish a certified CLIA lab and test up to 500 samples with the goal of showing the stroke test’s accuracy.

IschemiaCare’s blood test, called ISCDX, uses gene expression profiles to differentiate strokes that originate in the heart from those that originate in large blood vessels leading to the brain. June has said he envisions the company’s test as a companion diagnostic to imaging and plans to sell the test mostly to stroke centers and hospitals. The company is developing a second test that can also be used to diagnose the cause of transient ischemic attacks, also known as mini-strokes.

IschemiaCare hopes to begin generating revenue from its test by the third quarter of next year.

Photo from flickr user ConstructionDealMkting