NEW YORK ─ ClinSpec Diagnostics said on Monday that it closed a £2.4 million ($3.1 million) financing round to support the further development of a blood test that uses infrared spectroscopy and artificial intelligence to detect early-stage cancers in minutes.
Its blood test also has the potential to indicate the type and severity of a tumor, allowing doctors and clinicians to prioritize and fast-track the most appropriate and effective treatments, ClinSpec said.
Mercia’s EIS Fund; Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise; SIS Ventures; EoS Advisory; and the University of Strathclyde led the financing, taking ClinSpec's total financing to date to £4 million.
The Glasgow, Scotland-based company said it is seeking an additional £1 million to accelerate development and prepare for a Series A financing.
The firm ─ a spinout from the University of Strathclyde ─ said the new financing enables it to progress with the completion of a second brain cancer trial and the development of an algorithm that would help detect the most common cancers.
It also plans to hire five additional employees to strengthen its scientific and operations teams, taking its headcount to 14 people.
The company said last year that it was aiming to make an assay to diagnose brain cancer available for clinical use in Europe by 2021.