The capital will support the company’s New York testing facility, advance reimbursement efforts, and expand diagnostic menus in women’s health and orthopedics.
Biotia has secured an oversubscribed $9 million financing round to expand its clinical metagenomics testing services and scale operations at its high-complexity, CLIA-certified diagnostic laboratory in New York City.
The financing, which exceeds the company’s previously announced Series A round, will support the commercial expansion of its diagnostic pipeline into women’s health and orthopedic infections, while advancing payer reimbursement initiatives. Biotia, a spinout of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, combines pathogen genomics and artificial intelligence to identify complex, chronic, and difficult-to-diagnose infections.
“This funding enables us to do what matters most: expand advanced diagnostics available for patients suffering from chronic infections who have been failed by standard laboratory methods,” says Niamh O’Hara, PhD, CEO and cofounder of Biotia, in a release. “We are using this capital to expand our test menu, pursue reimbursement, and get these tools into the hands of clinicians—so that more patients get better and faster answers. We are grateful to work every day with strong investors, advisors, and partners transforming how infectious diseases are diagnosed and understood.”
Scaling Metagenomic Diagnostic Testing
The company currently offers the BIOTIA-ID Urine Test across all 50 US states. Designed to identify the microbial causes of recurrent and complicated urinary tract infections, the clinical test demonstrates 97% sensitivity and 99% specificity.
In addition to broadening its women’s health diagnostic offerings, the new capital will support Biotia’s expansion into orthopedic infectious disease diagnostics. The company maintains development and clinical collaborations with medical and research institutions including the Hospital for Special Surgery, Mayo Clinic, and NASA.
Board Expansion and Investor Backing
Alongside the capital raise, Biotia added healthcare and clinical leaders to its board of directors and advisory team to support its next stage of commercial growth. Investors in the round included Tim Barry and Clive Fields, cofounders of VillageMD, who also joined the company’s leadership and advisory team.
“Diagnostics are the foundation of better patient care, since you cannot manage what you cannot accurately measure. Biotia’s approach to precision infectious disease testing, especially their work in women’s health, is exactly the kind of innovation that improves outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs in the system. I’m excited to join the board and help Biotia scale,” says Barry, board member, in a release.
Additional investors participating in the financing include Convergent Ventures, DigitalDx Ventures, Cloquet Capital Partners, Continuum Health Ventures, I-Lab Angels, EGB Capital, Leawood Venture Capital, Red Bear Angels, and Red Bear Ventures.
“The esteemed leaders supporting Biotia at this stage are a testament to the importance of what we are building as we work to make clinical metagenomic solutions rapidly accessible for patients,” says Chris Mason, PhD, global director and cofounder of Biotia, in a release. “Their experience and perspective will be invaluable to accelerate our next phase of growth, expand our diagnostic applications to new markets, and help more patients.”
