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Metabolomic Dx Raises $848K to Develop Pre-eclampsia Test

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Metabolomic Diagnostics said this week it raised €750,000 ($848,000) in a second funding round that brings the total amount of investments in the firm to €1.5 million. 

Based in County Cork, Ireland, Metabolomic Dx is developing a predictive diagnostic test for the early detection of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. The firm named SOSVentures Ireland Fund and AIB Seed Capital Fund as investors. 

Metabolomic Dx said on its website that its test is highly specific and sensitive and can discriminate between pre-eclampsia and other maternal disorders. It has filed a PCT patent application for the technology covering 14 metabolites as individual prognostic variables. The application also makes claims to combinations of key metabolites. 

Metabolomic Dx is collaborating with University College Cork on an early pregnancy screening test for pre-eclampsia based on the company's combination of metabolic biomarkers and certain clinical risk factors, it said, adding it is investigating platforms that will enable the test to be scaled up.

The company also said that while its efforts have initially focused on pre-eclampsia, its technology may have applications for other pregnancy complications. 

"With almost 80,000 deaths each year globally as a result of pre-eclampsia, this technology has the potential to save lives and revolutionize prenatal care," Metabolomic Dx CEO Charles Garvey said in a statement.

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