After an already successful start to 2013, Lexington, Mass.-based SynapDx has announced Monday another $15.4 million round, this time led by Google Ventures.
The pediatric genomics startup’s founding funders North Bridge Venture Partners and General Catalyst Partners both helped fuel this round, alongside Foundation Medical Partners. The financing will be used to advance the development of the company’s blood-based Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnostic test, which helps physicians detect children with autism much sooner than the current average of 4.5 years.
Funding wasn’t the only announcement SynapDx made today, however. Google’s Andrew Conrad, the former chief scientific officer of LabCorp, has stepped up to join SynapDx’s board of directors.
Google Ventures General Partner Krishna Yeshwant claimed the company’s use of advanced technologies to create the “most informative blood test as possible” is an example of what the firm is looking for, according to a release. Both Yeshwant and Conrad are looking forward “to accelerating the company’s growth.”
SynapDx first received $9.4 million in equity investment in June 2010 after CEO Stan Lapidus licensed the technology from Boston Children’s Hospital. The startup then secured $6 million from North Bridge and General Catalyst in December 2012, and then landed another $2 million from Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings in February and an undisclosed, yet “significant investment,” from the Kraft Group in March.
“We are excited to include Google Ventures and Foundation Medical Partners amongst our list of notable investors and recognize the transformational opportunity this presents for SynapDx,” said Lapidus in a release. “As our clinical study progresses and we look toward commercialization, our partnership with Google, Andy and Krishna will be instrumental for the company’s next phase.”
