NEW YORK – Clinical informatics firm Ovation.io said Wednesday that it has raised $21.5 million in Series B funding led by SignalFire with participation from Madrona Venture Group, Borealis Ventures, StageDotO Ventures, and private investor David Shaw.
Ovation offers laboratory information management system (LIMS) and laboratory information system (LIS) software intended to make it easier for molecular diagnostic labs to develop tests. Specifically, the company will use the new funds to help its network of participating labs discover biomarkers that can be used in diagnostic tests and for drug development.
Ovation's [LIMS/LIS] turnkey, cloud-based software can be used by clinical laboratories "to deploy and manage molecular and genomic tests in a cost-efficient way," CEO Barry Wark said in a statement. "Through this network of labs, we are able to match researchers across the drug-development lifecycle with corresponding insights from our network laboratory customers. While each project is unique, a simple example would be a researcher looking for biomarkers associated with a disease like breast cancer. Understanding those biomarkers, for instance specific gene mutations, can help the researcher understand what drugs to use and what drugs not to use."
Boston-based Ovation said that it believes it can reduce the time and cost of biomarker discovery by as much as 80 percent. The company plans to formally launch its first products in this area early next year.
"Genomics is enhancing the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of many human diseases, but it requires an enormous amount of data that's time-consuming to collect," Carlos Bustamante, professor of biomedical data science and genetics at Stanford University, said in a statement. "With data from Ovation's lab network, we can accelerate what's traditionally a multi-year genomic biomarker project into just months."