Molecular Detection said today that it has raised $1.4 million as a follow-on to a $3.3 million Series C financing round announced in late 2009.
Molecular Diagnostics, or MDI, said it will use the funding to further develop its pipeline of qualitative real-time PCR in vitro diagnostic tests for infectious diseases.
MentorTech Ventures II led the follow-on financing, which also included Robin Hood Ventures, Elm Spring Holdings, and the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund I and II, all of which are previous investors in MDI.
MDI, based in Wayne, Pa., with additional offices in Tunbridge Wells, UK, and Jerusalem, Israel, recently launched its first product, the Detect-Ready screening assay for the rapid detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
In March, MDI launched the Detect-Ready MRSA test in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and said that Inverness Medical Deutschland would exclusively distribute the test in those countries (PCR Insider, 3/30/10). Last month, MDI said that it had inked an exclusive deal with Kent, UK-based Launch Diagnostics to distribute the assay in the UK, France, and Ireland (PCR Insider, 5/19/10).
The company said that additional launches are expected in the coming months. The Detect-Ready MRSA kit has also received the CE Mark for sales in the European Union.
Detect-Ready's core technology provides a "differential diagnosis engine" that minimizes false positives and negatives, MDI said. Testing samples are collected with nasal swabs and added to the assay's pre-mixed reagents, providing a result in less than three hours, according to MDI. The kits do not require refrigeration, and are compatible with multiple RT-PCR platforms such as the Roche LightCycler, Qiagen RotorGene, and Cepheid SmartCycler.
"MDI has accomplished a great deal since the close of our Series C financing, successfully introducing our Detect-Ready MRSA assay in cooperation with top tier sales and marketing partners in the key UK and German markets, while also preparing for launch in other important territories," Todd Wallach, chairman and CEO of MDI, said in a statement. "These new funds will help advance our new product development efforts and expand the working capital needed to support our rapidly growing business."
MDI is also developing kits to detect bloodstream MRSA infection and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus infection; C. difficile; a number of sexually transmitted diseases; and cytomegalovirus.