NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Adarza Biosystems said today that it has closed a $5 million Series B funding round.
The company plans to use the proceeds to expand the production capacity of its manufacturing facility in St. Peters, Missouri, and to launch its first immunoassay instrument platform. Adarza also said it will accelerate the development of assays targeting biological analytes, including cytokines, antigens, and small molecules.
Cultivation Capital Life Science Fund, Lewis and Clark Ventures, and the Venture Capital Unit of Siemens led the round, which follows a $6.8 million Series A round the company closed in 2014.
Adarza's platform is based on Arrayed Imaging Reflectrometry, or AIR, a detection technology based on intellectual property licensed from the University of Rochester. AIR is a label-free, silicon chip-based biosensor that the company said offers sensitivity comparable to ELISA with much higher dynamic range and the ability to multiplex hundreds of reactions.
"We are impressed with the power of this innovative platform to accurately perform multiplex tests," Ralf Schnell, CEO of the Venture Capital Unit of Siemens, said in a statement. "This technology, with the potential ability to interrogate hundreds of molecules in a drop of blood, provides the clinician or researcher a powerful tool for his or her applications."