U.K. diagnostics developer Cytox raised nearly $2.5 million in new funding to help expand work on the development of a viable Alzheimer's biomarker. CEO Richard Pither said in a statement that the funding will help expand clinical research in both the European Union and North America, where Cytox has partnered with Selah Genomics. The company's goal is to develop a blood-based biomarker whose presence (assessed via a diagnostic assay) could be used to assess and predict a patient's risk for Alzheimer's. In theory, the advance would enable early Alzheimer's detection and subsequent treatment before the disease causes too much damage. Investors in the latest round include new investor Seneca Partners and existing shareholders including SPARK, Northwest Fund for Biomedical, Wren Capital, the Rainbow Seed Fund and private investors. Release