T2 Biosystems Closes $23M More for Fast, Cheap Diagnostic Tools

Some interesting funding news in the biotech world today. Lexington, MA-based T2 Biosystems, a diagnostics technology firm, says it has closed a $23 million Series D financing round led by new investor Aisling Capital. The round also included previous investors Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Physic Ventures, Partners Healthcare, Arcus Ventures, RA Capital, Camros Capital, and WS Investments.

The company says the new money will be used to support ongoing development and clinical trials for its diagnostic technology—a benchtop machine that T2 says can identify biological substances such as proteins, small molecules, viruses, and DNA much more quickly and cheaply than traditional optical-based machines (which require purification of samples). It works by using miniaturized magnetic resonance detection in combination with magnetic nanoparticle probes.

T2 Biosystems was founded in 2006 by an all-star cast of researchers and business people, including luminaries from MIT (Tyler Jacks, Bob Langer, Michael Cima) and Mass General Hospital (Ralph Weissleder, Lee Josephson). The company is led by CEO John McDonough.

The field of molecular diagnostics is progressing rapidly, as this recent interview with Stéphane Bancel of BG Medicine and Knome points out.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.