NEW YORK – Pattern Bioscience said on Tuesday that it has raised $9 million in additional Series B-1 funding to accelerate the development and clinical validation of its Digital Culture rapid bacterial identification and susceptibility testing technology.
Illumina Ventures led the round, joined by Omnimed Capital, the lead investor in the company's previous two funding rounds.
Pattern Bioscience, formerly known as Klaris Diagnostics, plans to use the funding to work toward clearance of its patented clinical microbiology diagnostics platform by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Earlier this year, the Austin, Texas-based firm won a $6.8 million award with eligibility for another $15.1 million in future milestone payments from CARB-X, a consortium that is partially funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and closed a $6.4 million Series B funding round led by Omnimed.
Pattern's Digital Culture single-cell analysis platform uses digital cell reactors and machine learning to rapidly diagnose complex bacterial infections and to measure antibiotic response of individual bacterial cells within hours.
"These funds will allow us to bring our lifesaving technology a step closer to market," said Pattern Bioscience Cofounder and CEO Nick Arab in a statement. "With COVID-19 pulling us deeper into the antibiotic resistance crisis, there is an even greater need for rapid tests that can take the guesswork out of critical treatment decisions for complex infections."