Molecular Diagnostic Firm DioGenix Raises $3.2M To Develop Genomics Test for Multiple Sclerosis

Diagnosing multiple sclerosis is no easy task.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, there are no symptoms, physical findings or lab tests that can tell definitively that someone has multiple sclerosis, considered an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the central nervous system. Doctors employ several strategies to diagnose it that may include a battery of tests as well as spinal fluid analysis to rule out other neurological disorders.

One Maryland company hopes to change all of that. DioGenix has developed a molecular sequencing assay called MSPrecise that “measures DNA mutations found in rearranged immunoglobulin genes in immune cells initially isolated from cerebrospinal fluid,” according to the company. Clinical studies have shown that the company’s test performed better than the current standard for analyzing cerebrospinal fluid, according to a DioGenix news release.

On Thursday, DioGenix announced that new healthcare-focused angels and other existing investors like life sciences fund Nerveda have pumped in $3.2 million in a funding round. The money will be used to complete the largest prospective clinical trial of its kind in MS, the news release said. Since inception and including this financing round, the company has raised $14.2 million, which includes $12.7 million in equity financing, said Cammy Duong, a spokeswoman for DioGenix 

"Our new and long-term investors appreciate the value proposition of MSPrecise – to give physicians superior tools and insights when they are evaluating patients with neurological dysfunction at first clinical presentation. With the growing portfolio of therapeutics now available for MS, it is critical that we achieve similar innovations in our diagnostic methods to ensure patients obtain early and appropriate interventions,” said Larry Tiffany, President and CEO of DioGenix, announcing the financing.

The company has set up a new laboratory to prepare for commercialization as well as expanded a license with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center by which it will deliver its core technology to the university to study MS and other neurological diseases. 

[Photo Credit: DioGenix website]

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI
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