US biotech company raises US$7m for ovarian cancer diagnostic test

A US women’s health biotech company has closed a US$7m funding round to bring to market the first non-invasive ovarian cancer diagnostic test.

AOA Dx will use the funding to further develop its ovarian cancer detection technology that involves the first liquid biopsy test enabling early diagnosis of ovarian cancer through the analysis of tumour marker gangliosides.

The technology has shown a 90 per cent accuracy rate for detection of ovarian cancer, including early-stage disease.

One in seven women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in their lifetime, with new cases expected to rise by 55 per cent by 2035.

While it remains the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women aged 35-74, there are no reliable ovarian cancer biomarkers that detect early-stage disease.

Early detection could reduce fatalities by half while also minimising the emotional and physical burdens placed on patients as well as financial costs.

“It’s been an incredible journey to take AKRIVIS GD from academic research to the product development phase,” Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, CEO and co-founder of AOA, told Forbes.

“The results from our peer-reviewed study are extremely promising and knowing that we are on the path to creating better outcomes for ovarian cancer patients is a huge milestone for the company.”

Last year AOA raised  US$2.5m in seed funding, receiving a positive response from VCs and angels supportive of their mission.