PALO ALTO, Calif., May 11, 2011 – CardioDx, a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, today announced that the company has closed a $60 million round of equity financing. New investors Longitude Capital, J.P. Morgan, Acadia Woods Partners, Artiman Ventures, and Bright Capital, the venture arm of RU-COM, participated in the round, which also included the company’s previous investors. CardioDx has a strong track record of funding by leaders in life science investing such as Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TPG Biotech, Intel Capital, Pappas Ventures, DAG Ventures, Asset Management Group and GE Capital.
Funding will be used to expand reimbursement coverage in the United States for Corus™ CAD, the company’s blood-based gene expression test for obstructive coronary artery disease, and to continue development of future products in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics.
“We are pleased that such an experienced group of investors shares our vision for improving the management of patients with cardiovascular disease and we are excited that the additional capital will allow us to execute on our growth and expansion plans,” said David Levison, chief executive officer of CardioDx. “We continue to see a high level of enthusiasm among our primary care and cardiology customers for Corus CAD, which has now been used to assess the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease in more than 13,000 patients.”
"With a simple blood draw, CardioDx’s Corus CAD test provides actionable information regarding the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease that helps physicians make better decisions, helps patients avoid unnecessary procedures and radiation exposure and helps payers address a major expense category," said Patrick Enright, managing director, Longitude Capital, who joins the company's board of directors. "We are thrilled to work with the experienced team at CardioDx and to help the company become a major player in the field of cardiovascular disease diagnostics.”
About Corus CAD
Corus CAD is the first and only clinically validated blood-based test for obstructive coronary artery disease. The test involves a routine blood draw conveniently administered in the clinician’s office and does not expose patients to risks of radiation or imaging agent intolerance. Corus CAD is a decision-making tool that can help primary care clinicians and cardiologists evaluate whether a non-diabetic patient's symptoms are due to obstructive coronary artery disease. It is the first sex-specific test for obstructive coronary artery disease, accounting for critical biological differences between men and women.
Findings from the PREDICT validation study of the Corus CAD gene expression test were published in 2010 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the journal of the American College of Physicians. The test has been honored as a winner of The Wall Street Journal’s prestigious Technology Innovation Awards and one of TIME’s Top Ten Medical Breakthroughs for 2010.
The Corus CAD test measures the RNA levels of 23 genes. Because these RNA levels are increased or decreased when obstructive coronary artery disease is present, the Corus CAD score indicates the likelihood that an individual patient has obstructive coronary artery disease from a whole blood sample.
Corus CAD is commercially available through an innovative patient sample kit that includes everythingneeded for blood collection and express delivery to the company’s CLIA-certified Palo Alto, Calif.laboratory. Test results are delivered promptly to the clinician’s office. Corus CAD is currently available in the United States.
About Gene Expression Testing
Gene expression testing provides valuable tissue and cell-specific information about the molecular mechanisms involved in disease processes, enabling evaluation of an individual patient’s disease state, activity, and/or progression at a given point in time. Unlike genetic tests, which measure genetic variations, mutations, traits and predispositions – factors that are constant over a person’s lifetime – gene expression testing assesses a dynamic process, integrating both genetic predisposition and additional behavioral and environmental influences on current disease state.
About CardioDx
CardioDx, Inc., a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, is committed to developing clinically validated tests that empower clinicians to better tailor care to each individual patient.
Strategically focused on coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure, CardioDx ispoised to expand patient access and improve healthcare quality and efficiency through thecommercialization of genomic technologies.