A company with roots in developing tools for translational research has raised $15.3 million to execute the first step of its pursuit of market share in diagnostics.
NanoString Technologies Inc. said the round will help fund the U.S. regulatory application and non-U.S. commercial launch of a breast cancer assay that it says could help oncologists and pathologists determine whether a woman with breast cancer is likely to relapse. In May, the company initiated a second clinical validation study of the test, which uses a gene signature known as PAM50.
When it was granted the CE Mark in September, CEO Brad Gray told Xconomy that the first systems would be sold in Europe by early 2013.
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The $15.3 million came from previous investors Clarus Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, OVP Venture Partners, GE healthymagination Fund, BioMed Ventures and Henri Termeer, and new investors Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and AllianceBernstein Alternative Investment Management Group.
NanoString’s products apply its digital color-coded bar code technology to instruments for research applications including gene expression, copy number variation and micro RNA analysis. Its first instrument hit the market in 2008.
Although the company has gained some noteworthy traction with its research tools, it’s taken in a lot of cash to get this far. The $20 million series D it raised last year brought its total raised to $67 million. Another $15.3 million, then, brings its total to more than $82 million.
Both the genetic analysis and diagnostics market are highly competitive. But NanoString’s technology is more niche than some other technologies in the space and allows researchers to evaluate differences in single-cell gene expression profiles that may be hidden when looking at larger cell populations. Competitors in the breast cancer diagnostics market include Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) and Myriad Genetics & Laboratories. Another competitor, Fluidigm Corp., sued NanoString last month, claiming the company purposely misled potential customers in advertising its system compared to Fluidigm’s technology.
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Seattle-based NanoString was formed in 2003.
