The corporate venturing arm of drugs company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has joined peer Merck in the latest $16.2m round raised by US-based medical company HTG Molecular Diagnostics.
GSK’s SR One joined the second tranche of HTG’s series D round financing, which was led by Denmark-based foundation Novo and also included Merck Capital Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the eponymous drugs company, early stage investor Solstice Capital and US venture capital firm Valley Ventures.The first tranche was announced in February.
The financing take the total raised by HTG to $30.2m, based on a report in news provider Biz Tucson, that the firm had raised $14m as of 2010. This included a $10m Series C round in 2007, when Merck first backed the company.
The funds will be used by HTG to develop its gene analysis platform, allowing the company’s research to be used more by clinics, the company said.
Simeon George, a partner at SR One and who is joining HTG’s board, said: "Molecular diagnostics will increasingly impact drug development, approval, and reimbursement. We look forward to working with HTG’s impressive management team and network of advisors to support HTG’s growth in the clinical diagnostics market."
The deal follows SR One joining the $15m series B round extension of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, another company focussed on genetic research, last week.