DeNovo Sciences, a Plymouth, MI-based start up that is developing a microfluidic device that captures and isolates viable cancer cells in their own compartments where single cell analysis can be done, has received funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.
The amount was not disclosed.
Winner of the 2011 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition ($500k) and led by CEO Kalyan Handique, DeNovo Sciences has proprietary microfluidic technology that allows the capture of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from milliliter volumes of whole blood with minimal sample processing steps. CTCs are isolated in their own microchambers to allow morphological and molecular analysis at the single cell level.
The company is looking for collaborators (http://denovosciences.com/collaborators/).
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity fund that invests in technology-based companies to support business formation and acceleration. Ann Arbor SPARK serves as its administrator. It receives the same returns as the third party investor, which will be redeployed as first round capital to Michigan-based start-ups.
FinSMEs
06/05/2012