NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Canadian startup Xagenic today announced it has been awarded C$1 million (US$1.1 million) by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), which the company will use to commercial its chip-based molecular diagnostic technology.
The Toronto-based company will use the funding, made through MRI's Investment Accelerator Fund-Life Sciences program, to bring to market its technology built on nanostructured microelectrodes to create highly sensitive nucleic acid sensors that detect DNA and RNA "at record-breaking speed," according to Xagenic.
In a statement, the company said that while existing molecular-based tests are complex, time-consuming, and require skilled laboratory technicians, its technology, developed at the University of Toronto, can detect pathogens in less than 30 minutes. As a result pathogen detection can be done in a doctor's office or by a patient's bedside.
Xagenic was founded a year ago and including today's announced funding has secured more than C$2.2 million in investments. Investors in the firm include Canadian technology commercialization agent Mars Innovation, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Ontario Centre of Excellence, and the Health Technology Exchange.