Medical device firm Oncoscope, which is developing an optical imaging system with applications in cancer, is closing in on $1 million in its latest fundraising offering, according to securities filings.
Durham, North Carolina-based Oncoscope has raised $890,737 in an amended offering now targeting $2 million, according to the company’s latest filing. In April, Oncoscope had raised $624,902 in the round, which at the time was targeting a $1 million raise. Last year, the company raised $1.2 million.
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Oncoscope’s optical imaging technology was originally developed at Duke University. The initial Duke research was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, National Science Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.
Founded in 2006, Oncoscope has developed the technology into an imaging system to examine the epithelial tissue in the mouth, esophagus, stomach, colon, lung, cervix and bladder. The company is currently conducting a multi-center clinical study sponsored by an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health. One of the clinical sites is the Center for Esophageal Diseases & Swallowing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Oncoscope is studying the system as a way to detect Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition that is currently diagnosed with an upper endoscopy and biopsy. The company says that its imaging system can detect whether precancerous changes are present and give doctors that information in real-time.
