NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – RainDance Technologies today said that it has closed a $16.5 million Series E financing round extension.

New investors GE Healthcare and Northgate Capital participated in the round as did existing investors. The financing, Billerica, Mass.-based RainDance said, will be used to accelerate its commercial expansion and assay development work.

RainDance also is developing a liquid biopsy method that uses "readily accessible fluids" and is minimally invasive and inexpensive, it added.