NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DiaTech Oncology, a privately held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company offering patient-specific cancer testing, announced today that it has completed an $18 million equity capital raise.
DiaTech Oncology’s predictive test - the MiCK® assay or Correct Chemo™ - reveals which chemotherapy agent, or combination of agents, will kill the cancer cells of a specific, individual patient prior to treatment. DiaTech’s test helps oncologists determine the best treatment plans for their patients and has shown significantly positive results and improved survival for more than 50 different types of cancer.
The proceeds of the offering will primarily be used to develop additional laboratories to support DiaTech’s rapid growth, as well as to expand relationships with payors and research programs with institutional and academic partners.
“We are excited to announce this funding and pleased with the investor response to our offering,” says Andy Miller, DiaTech Chairman. “This capital provides us the opportunity to accelerate our efforts in serving patients and physicians on the front line in the fight against cancer.”
The patented MiCK assay measures apoptosis, or cell death, in the cancer cells of chemotherapy patients. Tumor cells are exposed to multiple doses of several chemotherapeutic drugs, either as single drugs or combinations. An algorithm monitors and computes the amount of cell death and determines a drug effectiveness “score” for each drug and combination against the patients’ own tumor cells. The oncologist then recommends the drugs or combinations that are most effective in killing the cancer.
“DiaTech’s test is the only test on the market that reveals to the treating oncologist the most effective chemotherapy for inducing cell death in the malignant cells of a particular cancer patient. As our clinical studies show, DiaTech’s test can guide therapy in individual patients, leading to longer survival times and lower cost,” says Cary Presant, M.D., DiaTech Chief Medical Officer.
About DiaTech Oncology
DiaTech Oncology, based in Nashville, Tenn., is a privately held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company that offers patient-specific chemotherapy testing to help oncologists determine the best cancer treatment plans for their patients. DiaTech utilizes a patented technology called the Microculture Kinetic (MiCK) assay, which measures apoptosis (cell death) induced in a specific patient’s cancer cells by chemotherapy. The only test on the market that evaluates the chemotherapeutic drug effect for a specific patient and can tell which chemotherapy drugs are most effective, the MiCK assay has successfully tested all types of cancer. The MiCK assay is also used to determine the effectiveness of new drugs in preclinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry. Online: www.diatech-oncology.com
