NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Newborn screening firm Baebies today announced the completion of a $13 million equity financing round.
Rex Health Ventures, Dumac, Cunning Capital, Triad, and the Duke Angel Network led the oversubscribed round. The firm also received a loan for an undisclosed amount from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
Durham, North Carolina-based Baebies has licensed its core digital microfluidics technology and a non-sequencing newborn screening technology from Illumina. The firm said it has also received equipment, contracts, and other consideration from Illumina in exchange for a share of ownership.
"Over 100 million babies born each year are not screened for even the most basic treatable congenital disorders. This translates to nearly 250,000 children each year whose lives could be dramatically improved with screening. We can make a real difference," Baebies president and co-founder Vamsee Pamula said in a statement.
In September, Baebies entered Phase II of a $500,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a saliva test for cytomegalovirus in newborns.