Fosun Pharma has committed series A funding to Glycotest, a liver disease diagnostics developer based on research at Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Drexel University.

Glycotest, a US-based liver disease diagnostics spinout of Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Drexel University, secured a commitment for $10m in series A capital from pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma on Monday.
Fosun Pharma will provide $3m in an upfront payment, with the remaining $7m contingent on Glycotest reaching certain milestones. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and will, if fully completed, give Fosun Pharma a 40% stake in the spinout.
Founded in 2012, Glycotest is working on non-invasive blood tests that monitor people at risk of developing liver cancers or fibrosis-cirrhosis.
People at risk of contracting these diseases include patients living with chronic hepatitis B and C infections and people suffering from non-viral hepatitis caused by obesity and metabolic disease.
The technology is based on research by Timothy Block, co-founder and president of Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and a professor at Drexel University until 2015, and Anand Mehta, a professor at Drexel University College of Medicine.
The series A funding will help Glycotest bring one of its products, HCC Panel – which detects and monitors curable early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of primary liver cancer – to market in the US.
Fosun Pharma will own the rights to develop and commercialise HCC Panel in China in return for royalty payments.
The cash will also go towards advancing a pipeline of assets focused on liver fibrosis and bile duct cancer.
Commercialisation firm NetScientific, which helped establish Glycotest, will retain a 51.5% majority stake following the full completion of the series A round.
François Martelet, chief executive of NetScientific and chairman of Glycotest, said: “The agreement of this financing round marks a pivotal moment for Glycotest and will set in motion the final stage of its progression towards commercialisation in the US.
“This key event will also help NetScientific realise the true value of its portfolio, and we foresee further upside in the very near future.
“We are excited to collaborate with Fosun Pharma, to make the HCC Panel available in the Chinese market, where the prevalence of HCC is very significant and the incidence is growing.”