Femtech company raises €4.22m to improve gynaecological diagnostics

A Spanish femtech company has raised €4.22m in funding to advance gynaecological diagnostics.

Barcelona-based start-up Mimark Diagnostics, a spin-off from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), aims to speed up the discovery, verification and validation of biomarkers to develop new solutions for gynaecological patients.

Its in vitro diagnostic test for endometrial cancer is now in the last stage of prototyping and is hoped to move to the verification and validation stages.

Endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer, is a type of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the uterus. It is traditionally diagnosed with the help of an endometrial biopsy, a procedure in which a tissue sample is obtained from the endometrium.

However, this could leave up to 30 per cent of patients undiagnosed due to technical failure or an inadequate amount of tissue.

Mimark’s innovation, which looks at five protein biomarkers in uterine fluid samples, aims to provide patients with a better diagnosis method and offer them more information on the histological subtype of the tumour to guide surgical treatment.

“This seed funding represents a significant milestone for Mimark and validates our commitment to improve gynecological diagnostics,” said Marina Rigau, co-founder and CEO of Mimark.

“Thanks to this funding we will advance on bringing our first product to the market; an in vitro diagnostic for endometrial cancer. We are excited about the journey ahead and the positive impact our innovations will have on women’s health.”

The investment is hoped to drive the development of the company’s solutions, with EU participation from the EIC Accelerator (European Innovation Council) and private investors, including Clave Capital, Nara Capital, Namarel Ventures, WA4STEAM, CDTI Innvierte, Inveready and Canterbury Scientific.

The funds, Rigau added, will be “instrumental” in advancing Mimark’s mission.

According to the co-founder, the start-up will be starting to accelerate the verification and clinical validation of WomEC, expand research and development efforts and strengthen collaborations with healthcare institutions in the field of gynaecology.