The financing round, consisting of a combination of Series C investment and convertible debt, was led by a large institutional investor associated with a major university. The round was joined by new and existing investors including Heritage Group (Santa Monica, CA), Alexandria Venture Investment, and Irwin Jacobs, the co-founder of Qualcomm. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance regulatory clearance for the company’s lead oncology diagnostic program, TR(ACE)™ assay, and for general working capital purposes.
Biological Dynamics has pioneered the use of alternating current electrokinetics (ACE) technology in the field of molecular diagnostics. The company’s ACE lab-on-chip (LOC) platform isolates nanoparticles from high conductance physiological solutions such as whole blood, plasma, and serum directly without the need for dilution and with minimal hands-on time.
The direct-to-analyte approach allows the company to develop minimally invasive and simple-to-perform diagnostic tests that detect cell-free DNA, exosomes, and other cellular debris from 250uL in less than 30 minutes. The company’s first product, theTR(ACE)™ assay, utilizes the platform to assess treatment response in oncology.
“We are grateful for the enthusiastic response from our new institutional investor and the continued support from our existing ones,” said Raj Krishnan, CEO of Biological Dynamics. “Treatment response monitoring (TRM) is a key piece of patient care. We believe TR(ACE)™ will resolve many limitations of existing TRM toolsets, enabling doctors and patients to navigate cancer care with greater clarity. The new funding will help us to execute on our regulatory strategy and to bring TR(ACE)™ to the clinic.”
Annually, the global community spends over $100B on oncology drugs alone. Oncologists typically have a short (12-18 months) window of chemo-tolerability during which they can make informed decisions as to whether a patient should be switched to another therapy. Therefore, it is essential for physicians to be able to distinguish benefiting and non-benefiting patients early in the treatment process. Biological Dynamics’ goal is to bring TR(ACE)™ to the clinic and thereby enable physicians, patients, and payors to navigate cancer care more effectively, built from a clear understanding of whether a cancer treatment - regardless of its cost or complexity – is working for a specific patient.
