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| Nicolas Barthelemy, bioTheranostics' CEO |
BioMérieux subsidiary bioTheranostics has had a nice ride at the French company, gaining momentum for its cancer diagnostic tests and generating some growth along the way. But now bioTheranostics is ready to embark on its next chapter, and for this one, it's riding solo.
The San Diego-based company raked in $32 million in private equity financing led by MVM Life Science Partners, with Canepa Advanced Healthcare Fund and HealthQuest Capital chipping in funds. bioTheranostics will use the cash to spinoff from bioMérieux, which will remain a minority shareholder, the company said in a statement.
"This is an exciting new beginning for bioTheranostics," bioTheranostics CEO Nicolas Barthelemy said in a statement. "We thank bioMérieux for its support over the years, which has allowed us to develop and demonstrate the clinical value of our two important marketed cancer diagnostic tests: Breast Cancer IndexSM (BCI) and CancerTYPE ID."
With new funds in tow, bioTheranostics plans on building on past milestones to chart more growth in the years ahead, Barthelemy said. In October 2014, the company snagged coverage approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its BCI diagnostic, which predicts a patient's risk of breast cancer recurrence after 5 years. The CMS decision came 8 months after bioTheranostics kicked off marketing for its test.
And 2015 was also a banner year for the company, with more than 900 doctors signing on to bioTheranostics' BCI test. In October 2015, the company said it would lend its cancer biomarkers to DeNovo Sciences to develop liquid biopsy tests. "Our ongoing goal is the continued advancement of the molecular diagnostics field with new developments that address clinical unmet needs in oncologic testing," bioTheranostics CSO Catherine Schnabel said at the time.
In the meantime, though, bioTheranostics is focused primarily on its BCI test. The company will "grow its commercial presence and expand its clinical development programs with the goal of expanding the clinical indications" for the tool, it said in a statement. And bioTheranostics' investors seem to have faith that the company can deliver as a solo act.
"The company has demonstrated a strong track record of clinical innovation and exceptional commercial growth driven by molecular diagnostic tests that provide meaningful, personalized information to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. We look forward to the future of the business and are pleased to be partnering with the company's outstanding management team and our co-investors," MVM's Eric Bednarski said in a statement.
- here's the statement