Neomed and Defi back CHF 1.3m round for Diagnoplex

Debiopharm Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Swiss biopharmaceutical firm Debiopharm Group, led the round.

Defi Gestion backed Diagnoplex via its Initiative Capital Romandie fund, which invests primarily in French-speaking Swiss start-ups that focus on the life sciences and technology sectors.

The funding will be used to finance a new comparative clinical trial, as well as aid Diagnoplex in obtaining CE marking for its main product, Colox, which is currently in development.

Previous funding
Neomed and Defi had both previously invested in Diagnoplex alongside Novartis Venture Fund. According to unquote" data, all three firms took part in a CHF 10m series-A round for the company in January 2009, which saw Novartis and Neomed co-lead. Neomed invested in Diagnoplex via its Neomed Innovation IV vehicle, which launched in 2005 and raised €104m.

Following this in January 2011, Debiopharm injected fresh capital in an extension of the series-A, although the three venture capital firms are not believed to have provided additional equity at this stage.

Company
Diagnoplex was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Lausanne, with 10 staff. The company develops blood-based cancer diagnostic tests using a molecular platform, with a focus on systematic screening for colorectal cancer. Its main product, Colox, uses a minimally-invasive blood test for this procedure and is designed to detect both early and advanced disease stages.

People
Stavros Therianos is Diagnoplex's founder and CEO. Thomas Goebel, a principal at Neomed, sits on Diagnoplex's board alongside Defi CFO and partner Claude Suard.

Novartis managing director Anja Koenig and Pietro Scalfaro, director of the diagnostics business unit at Debiopharm, also sit on the company's board of directors.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• DACH
• Healthcare
• Switzerland
• DEFI Gestion
• Neomed Innovations