In 2010,
we reported that University of Toronto spinoff company
Xagenic had secured just over a million dollars in funding to move forward with commercializing its nanotechnology-based diagnostic test. It was about half of the funding the company attracted that year.
Last week, the company got another big boost towards bringing its test—which could help screen for cancer and other diseases—to market, as it
closed a $10-million funding round led by Montreal's
CTI Life Sciences Fund. The arrangement will see two CTI partners join Xagenic's board.
Dr. Shana Kelley, the founder and CTO of Xagenic, founded the company based on her research at the University of Toronto. In
a statement, she said the investment would help "establish Xagenic as a world leader offering rapid, on-demand diagnostic tests." She says these tests should both lower costs and improve care.
Kelley, responding to question by email, said that the funding will allow Xagenic to add some members to its team of 10 over the next year, and will also finance clinical trials.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Shana Kelley, CTO, Xagenic