NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Sera Prognostics said today that it has increased its Series B financing round with a $5 million investment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The investment brings total funding in the round to $25 million. Sera originally announced the closing of the round last month.
With the additional funding, Sera aims to develop new tests for predicting the risk of preterm birth in women in developing countries, the company said. Sera plans to launch its current lead product, PreTRM, a proteomic test for assessing pregnant women's risk of preterm delivery, in the US this year.
"Preterm birth affects more than 15 million infants worldwide every year, with particularly severe consequences in developing countries," Trevor Mundel, president of Global Health at the Gates Foundation, said in a statement. "There is a great need for tests that identify the risk of preterm birth and other complications of pregnancy, so that effective early interventions can be used to improve the health of mothers and children everywhere."
With the investment, the Gates Foundation joins existing Sera investors Chione, Domain Associates, InterWest Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, UpStart Life Sciences Capital, and Osage University Partners.