IROA Technologies (formerly NextGen Metabolomics) has a new infusion of seed capital to go with its new name.
The Ann Arbor-based life sciences start-up recently landed a sizable Series A round of financing. Felice de Jong, the firm's CEO, declined to give a specific number of the amount beyond saying
IROA Technologies closed a Series A worth "over $1 million." Bloomfield Hills-based
O2 Investment Partners led the round with
Ann Arbor SPARK and
InvestDetroit also participating.
IROA Technologies is developing tools to identify key metabolites that can be used to diagnose diseases such as cancer in samples including blood and urine. The start-up's technology is unique because it can cut through the clutter of information from the analysis of blood or other bodily fluids and tissues to find the critical metabolites that relate to disease and illness. That cuts the diagnosis time from hours to minutes.
"Our tools make it easier to measure all of the metabolites in a person or any organism," de Jong says.
IROA Technologies plans to use its new seed capital to continue development of its software, expand its sales and marketing and add to its team. The firm currently employs two people and is looking to hire two more now to push forward the commercialization of its technology.
"We're hoping that within the year we will be able to launch our products," de Jong says.
Source: Felice de Jong, CEO of IROA Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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