US-based tissue analysis technology developer Akoya Biosciences has closed a $50m financing round featuring laboratory equipment producer Agilent Technologies.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray led the round through its Piper Jaffray Merchant Banking division, while private equity firm Telegraph Hill Partners and investment adviser Innovatus Capital Partners also took part.
Akoya has developed a tissue-imaging system called Codex that can quantify a wide range of biomarkers, and a multispectral-imaging device dubbed Phenoptics that helps illustrate contact between cancerous cells and the immune system in order to help researchers better understand how to combat the disease.
The company will channel the money into product development and the enhancement of both platforms, in addition to growing its operations and manufacturing capacity.
Brian McKelligon, Akoya’s CEO, said: “This support from industry leading investors and partners provides the vital endorsement and resources necessary for Akoya to continue to deliver innovative tools to enable a better understanding of the pathophysiology of cancer and provide more informative results for clinical decisions.”
Piper Jaffray managing director Thomas Schnettler joined the company’s board of directors in connection with the latest round, which follows a series C that closed at $24.5m in October 2018 according to a regulatory filing.
Akoya has not disclosed firm details of its previous funding but described Telegraph Hill Partners as an existing investor. It also raised $9m in May 2017, according to a separate filing.
Image courtesy of Akoya Biosciences.
