NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Multiplicom has raised €5.5 million ($7.3 million) to support further development of its molecular diagnostic tests and expansion of its business.
Flemish investment firm PMV, RMM (Rudi Mariën) and Qbic ARKIV Fund were new investors in the round. Existing investors including Belgian venture capital firm Gimv, Gimv-managed Biotechfonds Vlaanderen, and life science research institute VIB continue to support Multiplicom, it said, adding VIB will make an investment in kind.
The financing will go toward development of the company's tests, as well as validation studies, and expansion of its European sales channels.
In the spring of 2011 Multiplicom raised $3 million.
Founded in 2010 as a spinout of the University of Antwerp and VIB, the Belgian molecular diagnostics company currently has test kits for cystic fibrosis, bowel cancer, heart failure, kidney disease, and muscle disease available for research-use only.
This year, Multiplicom plans on launching a series of kits for detecting DNA mutations in cancerous tissue that would allow physicians to determine the most appropriate treatments for patients.
"This capital injection will allow us to carry out our ambitious plan to develop innovative molecular diagnostic kits and to remain at the forefront of European businesses in this new branch of medicine," Multiplicom CEO Dirk Pollet said in a statement.