OncoCyte reeled in $7 million in financing to support development of its cancer diagnostic tools, adding fuel to its engine as the company ramps up operations and R&D for its lead products.
The company's Alameda, CA-based BioTime ($BTX) subsidiary snagged $3.3 million in cash and $3.3 million in a conversion of existing debt into equity, funding current operations into early 2016 and bolstering research, clinical development and commercialization of its PanC-Dx cancer diagnostic tests, OncoCyte said in statement. All of the company's existing shareholders participated in the round, including Vanguard, iShares and SSgA Russell Small Cap Completeness.
"With this round of financing, OncoCyte is well positioned to prepare for commercialization of our cancer diagnostic products," Joseph Wagner, CEO of OncoCyte, said in a statement. "As we complete analysis of the initial clinical data from our studies in lung, bladder and breast cancer, we plan on collecting additional clinical validation data for our tests, solidifying the commercialization paths for each product, identifying our lead test for launch and developing a longer-term financing strategy."
New funding helps BioTime at a critical moment as it charges ahead with R&D for its noninvasive cancer diagnostics, which use broad gene expression patterns normally associated with embryonic growth to pinpoint genes linked to the disease. The company is sponsoring three clinical studies of PanC-Dx in bladder, breast and lung cancer, rolling out a multisite clinical trial of its urine-based bladder cancer diagnostic last July. BioTime plans to present final data from all three studies by the end of 2015, BioTime said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the company continues to strike deals with key research outfits to speed up development of its products. In May 2014, BioTime sealed a licensing deal with Weill Cornell Medical College to accelerate R&D for its lung cancer diagnostic tool. In September, the company said it would work with the U.K.'s Abcodia for a new study of its breast cancer test for early detection. Neither side disclosed financial details at the time, but the companies planned to see how well OncoCyte's cancer markers helped detect breast cancer in patient samples from Abcodia's biobank.
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