With its sights set on growth, German diagnostics outfit Curetis AG has closed a $18.1 million Series B financing round with new investor Qiagen ($QGEN) chipping in.
HBM Partners originally led the round in April 2013. Existing investors Aeris Capital, BioMed Invest, CD Venture, Forbion Capital, HBM Partners, LSP Life Sciences Partners and Roche Venture Fund participated in the extension financing.
Joining this round was Qiagen and LSP Health Economics Fund, committing a total of $8.73 million. Qiagen's involvement is notable because the diagnostics heavyweight has been inking deals left and right, with more than 20 collaborative projects underway, including an ongoing partnership with pharma giant Eli Lilly ($LLY).
Curetis, a developer of next-generation molecular diagnostics, will use the cash to fund a U.S. clinical trial of its Unyvero platform, a comprehensive diagnostics system for severe infectious diseases in hospitalized patients. Using a variety of cartridges, the tests diagnose diseases like pneumonia or implant and tissue infections within four to five hours.
The money will also be used to support the rollout of its products in Europe, where the Unyvero P50 Pneumonia and i60 Implant and Tissue Infection applications already is approved for use. Curetis is also looking to bring the tests to Asian markets.
Beyond that, the company said it is looking for "attractive future exit opportunities" such as strategic partnerships, M&A or an IPO.
"We are excited to see two new investors joining and further strengthening our syndicate of top-tier private equity funds," said Curetis CEO Dr. Oliver Schacht in a statement. "This provides further evidence of our growth story being an attractive investment case. With the current cash on hand, we are now financed well into 2017."
The new financing brings the total amount of equity raised by Curetis to more than $79.2 million.
- get the press release (PDF)