NEW YORK – Israeli liquid biopsy firm Senseera said Tuesday that it has closed a $7.1 million seed funding round.
The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from I-Next Capital and the Lowy Medical Research Institute.
The Jerusalem-based company said the money will help it advance its Gem Biomarkers platform, an epigenetic liquid biopsy technology that uses a sequencing method called cfChIP-seq, developed in the lab of Nir Friedman, a professor of computer science and biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Gem is designed to interrogate cell-specific gene expression patterns and provide molecular insights for diagnosing and monitoring diseases.
Early work has focused on liver diseases, namely early detection and monitoring of metabolic fatty liver disorders, liver transplant rejection, and liver cancer.
The company said the new financing will help it accelerate the commercialization of a transplant rejection test. It also plans to use its platform in drug and diagnostic development across various diseases.
"With the support from Lightspeed and our investors, we will advance clinical trials, strengthen collaborations with global pharma leaders, and expand our pipeline to improve patient outcomes," Senseera CEO Ronen Sadeh said in a statement.