Reflexion Medical extended its Series B financing to $52 million with funds from Johnson & Johnson’s ($JNJ) venture capital arm. The cash helps Reflexion as it develops its biologically guided radiotherapy system for cancer treatment.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) contributed financing. KCK Group, Venrock, Pfizer Venture Investments and Sofinnova Partners, Reflexion’s majority shareholder, also chipped in funds. JJDC will get board observer status at the company as part of the financing and will also nominate a rep to join Reflexion’s scientific advisory board.
JJDC’s participation bodes well for Hayward, CA-based Reflexion, which has been working hard to raise funds to develop its biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) system. The tool uses CT and PET imaging data and real-time biological signals to guide radiation toward different targets.
The system could offer an advantage over current treatments, which often destroy healthy tissue while trying to target cancerous lesions. Reflexion’s treatment could concentrate on multiple lesions throughout the body while sparing healthy tissue.
The treatment could also lead to more breakthroughs in precision medicine, the company said in a statement. Eventually, new PET tracers could help tailor treatment based on biological tumor characteristics including genetic markers.
"RefleXion's novel combination of PET imaging and external beam radiation therapy represents a significant innovation in localized cancer treatment," Reflexion co-founder and President Samuel Mazin said in a statement, "We look forward to identifying compelling clinical applications for biology-guided radiotherapy alongside the oncology pipeline of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson."
- here’s the statement
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