ProteoMedix, a Switzerland-based prostate cancer diagnostics spinout from ETH Zurich, obtained CHF5.2m ($5.3m) on Monday in a round led by venture capital firm Altos Ventures. Canton of Zurich-owned financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank took part in the round, together with assorted angel investors. Founded in 2010, ProteoMedix develops medical products for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. The spinout’s lead project is a blood-based test for a protein biomarker, linked to the cancerous PI3K/PTEN pathway, which could help clarify false positives and avoid side effects from traditional prostate biopsies. The product has already undergone several clinical studies. ProteoMedix will use the cash to start market development and continue other preparations as it gears up for business in Europe. ProteoMedix’s funding total now stands at $17.4m, according to the company, including $5.2m raised in a 2016 Altos-led round that featured Zürcher Kantonalbank and unnamed private investors. The same consortium backed the spinout’s $4.6m series B round, held over two tranches in 2014 and 2015. ProteoMedix also received $2.8m in series A funding in 2012 from Zürcher and unspecified affiliates of BioValley Business Angels Club. ProteoMedix’s co-founders include the company’s CEO, Ralph Schiess, who completed a PhD at ETH Zurich in mass spectrometry-based proteomics. He said: “We are very pleased with the continuous financial support we receive. “This reflects the continuous progress we made in the past and the potential of our approach for improving prostate cancer diagnosis.”

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