Quanterix, a company which specializes in technology designed for the early detection of diseases, has closed a $18.5m Series C round which included a $15m equity stake from new investor France-based BioMerieux. Participants also included existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, who invest primarily in companies co-founded with leading scientists and entrepreneurs, venture capital affiliate of Bain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, early-stage venture capital firm Flagship Ventures and In-Q-Tel, the corporate venturing style unit of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The strategic agreement with bioMerieux will see bioMerieux use Quanterix’s Simoa technology to develop specialised tests that focus on infectious diseases with exclusive rights in clinical laboratories and for industrial applications.
To date Quanterix has raised $39.5m in funding. A series A round in 2008 raised $15m followed by a $6m B round in 2011 which resulted in a partnership with Germany-based Stratec Biomedical.
Paul Chapman, chief executive at Quanterix, said: “BioMerieux’s partnership validates the incredible foundation the Quanterix team has developed and will make it possible for this remarkable technology to make a difference in the lives of patients, we could not have found a better strategic partner to develop and commercialize Simoa in this critical market segment. This strategic alliance will provide us with the flexibility to leverage Simoa technology and apply it in other commercial opportunities of interest, whether that be in biomedical research, bioterrorism, blood banking, or point-of-care diagnostics.”