NEW YORK – GoodCell, which offers personal biobanking, small-panel genetic testing, and analysis, said Monday that it has raised $17.9 million in new venture capital.
Prairie Fire Capital, Intellectual Digital, and several individual investors contributed to the round, according to a company spokesperson.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based GoodCell, the trade name for the company LifeVault Bio, said that it would use the funding to support development of the company's analytics platform, as well as its technology for detecting and monitoring accumulated genetic variation within blood cells. The firm also seeks to expand its personal biobanking service and add to its menu of personalized health screening offerings.
"This latest capital infusion will help us achieve our next stage of development for our platform as we introduce new solutions to the market that change the way individuals, researchers, clinicians and pharmacists predict, identify, and monitor disease risk," Founder and CEO Trevor Perry said in a statement. "Our vision is for every person to have greater control over their health by providing access to a platform that helps decode our cells and can extend the quality of life for individuals, their families, and all of humankind."
Operating as GoodCell, the company sends sample kits to customers' homes, who then schedule blood draws with the company's network of phlebotomists. GoodCell breaks each sample down into cellular, DNA, and plasma components and tests the DNA for genetic predisposition to disease, then stores the material in a biorepository for future retesting. Individuals retain ownership and control of their samples for clinical and research purposes.
The firm recently applied for US patents on its for methods of predicting patient susceptibility to infectious diseases.
"Traditional risk factors such as age, weight and chronic conditions are important, but offer an incomplete picture for assessing susceptibility to an ailment," Founder and Chief Science Officer Brad Hamilton said. "The ability to evaluate and measure cell quality has the potential to improve quality and consistency of process while potentially reducing costs associated with the manufacturing of cellular products prior to clinical application."
GoodCell previously raised $5.6 million in December 2019, including $2.6 million in direct investment and a $3 million convertible note. Online records show that Intellectual Digital provided that financing.