Molecular Detection raises $1.4M for disease diagnostics

Molecular Detection Inc. has raised $1.4 million in equity to develop a series of tests for infectious diseases, according to a regulatory filing. with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company says its Detect-Ready technology offers a more quick and accurate means of diagnosing diseases. Its first product tests nasal samples for MRSA, a staph infection that has become resistant to the antibiotics typically used to treat such infections.

The company has scored a couple wins in recent months, signing two deals with European distributors for its MRSA test. In October, it landed a (pdf) $3.3 million Series C round and hired a new CEO, Todd Wallach.

Molecular Detection characterized the $1.4 million fundraise as “part of a follow-on” to the Series C round. The company is looking to bring the amount up to $2.5 million, according to the regulatory document.

The company will use the new funding to develop new tests using its Detect-Ready technology, Wallach said.

Molecular Detection is also developing a test for C. difficile, a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhea and colon inflammation, and another test for MRSA in the blood.

The financing was led by Philadelphia-based MentorTech Ventures and included Robin Hood Ventures, Elm Spring Holdings and the Mid-AtlanticAngel Group Fund — all existing investors in Molecular Detection.

Founded in 2007, 18-employee Molecular Detection has raised at least $7 million to date, Wallach said.

Wallach hopes to have the MRSA test on the U.S. market sometime in the first half of 2011. A clinical trial at multiple sites is already under way, he said.

The nasal-swab MRSA test received European regulatory approval in the fourth quarter of last year. The test is available in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria.