Segulah Medical Acceleration AB (SMA) announced today that it has invested in cancer liquid biopsy and genomic testing company SAGA Diagnostics’ oversubscribed SEK 106 million (€10.5 million) Series A2 equity financing round. The round was led by SMA together with the Sciety investment syndicate with strong support from existing shareholders such as Hadean Ventures.
SAGA is commercializing proprietary technologies to quantify cancer-associated genetic aberrations in tissue and liquid biopsy samples, and are uniquely capable of achieving limits of detection down to 0.001% mutant allele fraction. SAGA’s platform technologies, which are based on digital PCR and next-generation sequencing, are tools to be used in cancer patient stratification, therapy response monitoring, disease relapse identification, as well as in aiding in treatment decisions and as companion diagnostics.
“In the fast-growing sector for liquid biopsy technologies with many new tests, SAGA Diagnostics stands out with their tests’ unprecedented sensitivity. We are proud to team up with SAGA and look forward to helping the team advance their strategic objectives further.” said Roger Gunnarsson, Managing Partner at SMA.
“We are delighted to complete this oversubscribed financing round with support from existing investors and also to welcome Segulah Medical Acceleration who bring significant expertise and network that will help SAGA accelerate into this next phase of the company. Building on our ultrasensitive products for liquid and tissue biopsy testing, the funds will enable us to execute on our ambitious growth plans. We will offer a wide range of regulatory-approved assays and services using all our three technology platforms and to broaden our reach to further markets – and thus move us forward on our mission to help cancer patients to have the best possible outcomes.” said Lao Saal, CEO of SAGA Diagnostics.
SAGA already has commercial agreements with a number of pharmaceutical partners, key opinion leaders, and clinical laboratories for the use of these technologies, both as laboratory testing service and sold as reagent kits. Funds will now be used to extend SAGA’s range of CE-marked SAGAsafe® dPCR assays, accelerate the commercialization of SAGAsign® in minimal residual disease monitoring, launch the SAGAseq® platform, establish CLIA laboratory capabilities, execute clinical studies, and perform other expansion activities.
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For more information about Segulah Medical Acceleration, please contact:
SMA
Roger Gunnarsson (gunnarsson@segulahmedical.com)
+46 73 850 67 32
About SAGA Diagnostics AB
SAGA Diagnostics AB is a personalized cancer diagnostics and disease monitoring company that offers molecular genetic testing of tissue biopsies and non-invasive “liquid biopsies” such as blood samples. SAGA helps pharmaceutical companies, scientists, and healthcare providers to detect actionable mutations, stratify patient groups, and monitor treatment response more accurately and to an industry-leading lower limit of detection of 0.001%. Analysis of circulating tumor DNA using its proprietary technologies gives SAGA unique ultrasensitivity, and provides the basis for optimal decision-making. sagadiagnostics.com
About Segulah Medical Acceleration AB
Segulah Medical Acceleration (SMA) is a Scandinavia-based investment company focusing on innovative medical technology companies in Europe. SMA’s objective is to help its partner companies accelerate growth and reach commercial proof of concept. SMA’s geographic remit is Scandinavia and other Western European countries. The areas within Medtech that SMA prioritizes include medical devices and consumables, diagnostics, life science tools, and digital technologies (AI). SMA has more than SEK 1.25 billion (€ 125m equivalent) in investable funds. segulahmedical.com