NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Korean diagnostics firm NGeneBio said this week that it recently closed an $11 million Series B financing.
The company also achieved a CE-IVD mark for its HEMEaccuTest, which targets hematological malignancies, according to YoungJoon Moon, director of business development for the Seoul-based company.
NGeneBio's new financing builds on the $1.9 million it raised last year with Korea Investment Partners. Seoul-based KIP returned for the latest round along with UTC Investment, IMM Investment, and DSC Investment, all three of which are also based in Korea.
Moon said that NGeneBio will use the proceeds to expand its presence in the next-generation sequencing-based precision medicine market, as well as in new product development, including investments in clinical studies and filings with regulatory entities.
Last month, NGeneBio secured a CE-IVD mark for its HEMEaccuTest, which allows it to sell the assay for clinical use in Europe. The test targets multiple hematological malignancies including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoid leukemia, myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma.
Moon said the company recently upgraded the DNA test panel to cover 108 genes related to these malignancies. NGeneBio launched a previous version of the test covering 99 genes earlier this year. The company also this year launched an associated RNA panel for research use that targets 35 genes, including five housekeeping genes, for fusion, alternative splicing, and expression profiling.
Both panels are designed for use on Illumina instruments including the MiSeq, MiSeqDx, and MiniSeq platforms.