Progenity has raised $125 million in Series B financing to accelerate development of its gastrointestinal tract-focused precision diagnostics/precision therapeutics platform.[Source: © Orlando Florin Rosu/Fotolia]
Progenity has raised $125 million in Series B financing to accelerate development of its gastrointestinal tract-focused precision diagnostics/precision therapeutics platform.[Source: © Orlando Florin Rosu/Fotolia]

Progenity said today it has raised $125 million in Series B financing toward expanding its focus beyond women’s health by accelerating the development of its precision diagnostics and therapeutics platform for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

The company said its platform consists of precision molecular diagnostics tools, precision therapeutics with potential to deliver proteins orally, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), microbiome analytics for both the upper and lower GI tract, and consumer health nutrition applications.

The company said its offerings will focus on diagnosing and treating GI diseases that include irritable bowel syndrome, fatty liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and gastrointestinal cancers.

The company added that proceeds from the financing will also be used to enhance its menu and service offerings to physicians in the prenatal and broader women’s health market on a national scale.

Progenity specializes in women’s health molecular testing designed to support clinicians, with a pipeline of proprietary tests and therapeutic applications under development. The company’s offerings include the Preparent™ Carrier Screen test with a standard panel to test for carrier status of 29 hereditary disorders; a “global” panel to test for carrier status of 200+ disorders affecting infant or child health; and panels to test for any and all of the hereditary disorders cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and fragile X syndrome.

Another test, Preparent XY, offers optional fetal sex reporting for Preparent carrier testing panels.

Progenity also offers Innatal™ Prenatal Screen using noninvasive cell-free DNA to test for chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome; the IdentifySGD preimplantation genetic test for single-gene disorders; and the Riscover™ Hereditary Cancer Test.

“We shall continue to invest in new assets to strengthen our internal innovation and commercial efforts,” Progenity Executive Chairman and Founder Harry Stylli said in a statement.

Progenity has its corporate office in San Diego, and its lab in Ann Arbor, MI. In February, Progenity joined with Illumina, Counsyl, Natera, and LabCorp (through its Integrated Genetics specialty laboratory) to form the Coalition for Access to Prenatal Screening (CAPS), with the goal of providing education about, and increase the use of, cell-free DNA-based pregnancy screening tests.

The $125 million financing, consisting of equity and debt, was raised from existing and new investors. Leading the financing was a fund managed by Athyrium Capital Management, an existing investor with more than $3.5 billion of assets under management as of September 30.

According to its website, Athyrium made its initial investment in Progenity in June 2013.

“The platform the team has built is a testament to the Company's vision in Women's Health and the promise of their growing Oncology and Gastroenterology franchises. With this financing, we believe that the company will be well capitalized to execute on its internal pipeline and business development opportunities.”

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