NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Swedish molecular diagnostics company Immunovia today announced it has raised SEK 324 million ($37.1 million) in gross proceeds in a directed share issue.
The firm issued almost 2.2 million new shares at a subscription price of SEK 150 per share. Proceeds will be directed at acceleration of Immunovia's planned launch of its Immray PanCan-d assay and to build a US sales staff and operation. The company announced a year ago the creation of a US subsidiary in Boston to house commercialization operations and a CLIA reference laboratory.
Proceeds will also be used to fund marketing and sales efforts, and continued product development, Immunovia said.
Its flagship product is the Immray PanCan-d assay. The antibody-based microarray measures about 25 biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer, allowing clinicians to detect stage I and II pancreatic cancers when they are still resectable.
Immunovia launched in late 2016 its PanFAM-1 clinical validation study for applying the assay in familial pancreatic cancer. The study aims to look at more than 1,000 individuals over three years across sites in Sweden, the US, and Europe. Sites participating in it so far include Mount Sinai, Linköping University Hospital, NYU School of Medicine, and others.
The company has also initiated another study to diagnose early-stage pancreatic cancer in new onset diabetes patients.