Diagnostics firm Metabolon raises $13M in series D; is IPO next?

Diagnostics firm Metabolon has raised $13.1 million in a fourth round of financing and in […]

Diagnostics firm Metabolon has raised $13.1 million in a fourth round of financing and in doing so has signaled intentions to eventually pursue an initial public stock offering.

Metabolon added new investor Keating Capital, a a business development company that focuses on investments in companies “committed to and capable of becoming public.” Joining Keating in the series D round were existing investors Sevin Rosen Funds, Aurora Funds, Harris & Harris Group (NASDAQ:TINY), Syngenta Ventures, Fletcher Spaght and Fulcrum Financial Partners.

“We’re very impressed with Metabolon’s disruptive technology and commercial success,” Keating Capital CEO Timothy Keating said in a prepared statement. “Its diagnostic portfolio is targeting disease areas where there is a significant unmet clinical need and we’re excited to become a part of the team.”

Metablon fits into the expanding realm of personalized medicne. The company’s metabolomics technology has been used to identify biomarkers that can be used in diagnostics. The company has  developed diagnostic tools for prostate cancer and insulin resistance.

Fortune magazine earlier this summer named Metabolon to a list of 13 startup companies on the verge of an IPO. Fortune noted that although pharmaceutical industry heavyweights Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) use Metabolon’s tests in clinical trials, the company faces a possible challenge in convincing doctors to use its tools. The company is not yet profitable but Fortune reports that Metabolon’s sales grew 43 percent in the last year.

Metabolon projects that its 2011 revenue will be roughly $20 million. The company said that the new financing will support growth of its Metabolytics division as well as continued development of oncology diagnostics products.

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