Switzerland-based cancer research and diagnostics equipment developer Lunaphore added CHF2m ($2m) to close a series C round already backed by medical products group PHC Holdings at $25.6m on Tuesday.
The extension was supplied by Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, a joint investment vehicle formed by startup support organisation Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation, insurance provider Swiss Mobiliar and investment banks Credit Suisse and UBS.
PHC Holdings led the $23.6m first tranche with contributions from Alpana Ventures and Occident. The funding was raised in January 2020 and disclosed the following month.
Spun out of research institute EPFL in 2014, Lunaphore is working on technology capable of automating tissue incubations. The approach would make it possible to precisely control reaction time of laboratory assays and produce results within minutes rather than hours.
The company hopes that, ultimately, its technology will facilitate specific biomarker testing during biopsies in order to reduce the number of interventions required to determine the cause of a patient’s ailment.
The series C funding has been allocated to product and market expansion activities, including Lunaphore’s entry into the US. It completed an $11.6m series B round in 2018 featuring financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank, Occident and undisclosed new and existing investors.
The series B included $6.2m in convertible debt financing supplied by Zühlke Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of enterprise IT services firm Zühlke, as well as Occident, Polytech Ecosystem Ventures, Redalpine Venture Partners and unnamed additional backers.
Redalpine had led a $2.1m series A round for the company in 2015, with commitments from assorted private investors. Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund was identified as a returning backer in the latest funding.
