NEW YORK – Norwegian firm Bio-Me announced Tuesday it has raised 10 million Norwegian kroner ($1.2 million) to support its microbiome-based precision medicine clinical programs.
The firm noted in a statement that existing and new investors participated, with new investors contributing the majority of the capital.
Bio-Me said it will use the funding to advance several clinical programs and explore other business opportunities for shorter-term revenue generation.
Oslo-based Bio-Me has developed an analysis tool for the gut microbiome in collaboration with Thermo Fischer Scientific.
Called Precision Microbiome Profiling, the tool uses qPCR to enable analysis of up to 200 samples in two hours, allowing the testing to potentially meet the requirements for clinical diagnostic applications.
"The successful funding round is an important step towards positioning Bio-Me for further growth and being a leader in microbiome-based precision medicine," said Bio-Me CEO Morten Isaksen in a statement.
The firm was awarded €2 million ($2.2 million) last year from the Norwegian Research Council to develop a companion diagnostic test for immune checkpoint inhibitor cancer treatments.
Bio-Me is also collaborating with San Carlos, California-based Siolta Therapeutics to develop a rapid diagnostic test for newborns at risk of developing allergy and asthma, and is collaborating on a study of the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection on the gut microbiome in adolescents.