EValuate Diagnostics, a spinout of Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute’s Center for Discovery and Innovation (HMCDI) developing extracellular vesicle-based diagnostics, has obtained $1 million in venture capital funding, Hackensack Meridian Health announced on Thursday.
The funding comes from Foundation Venture Capital Group, a Princeton, New Jersey-based organization providing pre-seed and seed funding to health-related startup companies.
EValuate Diagnostics intends to market a diagnostic platform that captures extracellular vesicles for the early detection of tumors and other diseases.
The company is the first spinout of Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute (HMHRI) and its Office of Innovation and Commercialization, HMHRI said, adding that EValuate Diagnostics will leverage the research of Olivier Loudig, a member of HMCDI engaged in biomarker discovery and early detection of breast, lung, and prostate cancers using liquid biopsies and next-generation sequencing technologies to detect RNA signatures.
“The work of Olivier Loudig is pushing the envelope of disease detection,” said David Perlin, CSO and executive VP of the CDI, an institute comprising more than 32 laboratories and 185 researchers and physician-scientists. “We are thrilled that this work will be translated for real-world clinical impact in the near future.”
Foundation Venture Capital Group is an affiliate of the New Jersey Health Foundation and it supports the Innovation Grant program funded through the Foundation for Health Advancement, which provides grants to support early-stage university technologies with commercialization potential.
“EValuate Diagnostics’ research could be a game-changer, and we will help make their objective of successfully commercializing their technology a reality — for everyone’s benefit,” said George Heinrich, vice chair and CEO of NJHF and FVCG.
Full story: Hackensack Meridian Research Institute Spinout EValuate Diagnostics Gets $1M in Venture Funding | GenomeWeb