NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Empire Genomics has closed a $1.75 million follow-on financing round, the company and investor Rand Capital said yesterday.
The new financing was led by existing investor BroadOak Capital Partners and included a $250,000 investment from Rand Capital, bringing its total investment in Empire to $1.15 million.
Buffalo, NY-based Empire Genomics is a 2006 spinout from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute that develops molecular diagnostic products and provides assay-development services. The company said it will use the proceeds of the recent financing to grow its marketing, automation, and operations, and to launch additional molecular diagnostic products.
"We intend to make additional investments in the talent and infrastructure needed to advance our work and build scale to support the further commercialization of our products," Anthony Johnson, president and CEO of Empire Genomics, said in a statement. "Our business continues to gain momentum, with first quarter revenue up almost 50 percent over last year's first quarter."
Johnson also noted that the firm recently inked an exclusive agreement with an unnamed distributor for its products in China.
In May, Empire Genomics received approval from New York State to offer molecular and cellular tumor marker testing through the state's Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program.