NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Molecular diagnostics Firm Xagenic today announced that it has raised C$15 million ($11.8 million) in new financing that it hopes will accelerate its efforts to develop and commercialize its point-of-care diagnostic platform.
Headquartered in Toronto, Xagenic has been developing a platform it calls the Xagenic X1 based on a core technology that was originally developed by researchers at the University of Toronto.
The method uses nanostructured microelectrodes for rapid enzyme-free detection of nucleic acids from clinical specimens without the need for sample extraction. Last month the company licensed additional technology from the Toronto research team around the use of clamp molecules, which they published this month in Nature Chemistry. These clamps could potentially allow Xagenic to expand its platform to liquid biopsy applications in addition to point-of-care infectious disease diagnosis.
According to the company, each of the investors in its previous Series B round also participated in this more recent funding, including Domain Associates, CTI Life Sciences, BDC Capital and the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.