Swedish sample prep firm Denator said this week it has been awarded 500,000 SEK ($73,000) from the Vinnova Forska & Väx program for a pilot study looking at stabilizing clinical samples for better disease diagnosis.
The project will specifically focus on clinically relevant phosphorylations for immunohistochemistry analysis, the company said in a release. Partners in the project include undisclosed researchers from the Karolinska Institute and a "leading pan-European [player] within clinical diagnostics," Denator said.
In a statement, CEO Olaf Sköd said that the funding will allow Denator to continue verifying its technology. "This will lead to further increase in the market potential for the technology and open up large market segments within diagnostics and healthcare."
Vinnova is a government agency under Sweden's Ministry of Industry with a particular focus on supporting scientific R&D in the country. Under the Forska & Väx program, Vinnova supplies funding to companies that have demonstrated strong growth potential. The funding is directed at projects that target unmet needs.
Based in Gothenburg, Denator is developing technology that inhibits degradation in tissues, allowing researchers to study biological samples and their proteins and peptides closer to an in vivo state.
Its first commercial platform, the Stabilizor T1 was launched in August 2008.
Last month, Denator announced it had raised 15 million SEK in its fourth financing round, which it is using to develop its product line and increase research activities and expand its sales and marketing activities [See PM 10/23/09].