U.S.-headquartered Gemelli Biotech Corp, which focuses on precision diagnostics for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, has completed a $19 million series A finance round.
Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm providing growth capital to companies targeting precision health and value-based care, led the investment round, joined by founding investor Cedars-Sinai, along with Carolina Angel Network, CerraCap Ventures, and several family offices.
Gemelli will use the capital raised to accelerate the commercialization of its trio-smart and ibs-smart precision diagnostic tests, including expanding sales and marketing across the U.S., and the scale-up of laboratory and manufacturing capacity, as well as its operational footprints in Raleigh and Los Angeles.
“Our innovative, non-invasive diagnostic technologies advance the level of actionable, scientifically validated biomarker and analytic information that enables clinicians to more definitively detect and optimize treatment of patients with gastrointestinal diseases,” said Matt Mitcho, Gemelli Biotech’s co-founder and CEO.
“This funding – combined with the involvement and insights of this well-regarded group of investors – will enable us to accelerate our business and bring our leading diagnostic testing products to more people.”
Two products
Gemelli has launched two products: trio-smart – the only clinical breath test that measures levels of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide to provide clinicians and patients with a more complete picture of gut health – and ibs-smart – a patented diagnostic blood test for post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Both products were developed in partnership with the Medically Associated Science and Technology program at Cedars-Sinai.
“We are particularly pleased to partner with Gemelli and help them grow as a leading innovator of diagnostic tests which are convenient and provide actionable information for physicians treating IBS, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and other GI diseases,” said John Neczesny, managing partner of Blue Ox Healthcare Partners.
“The combination of improving individualized patient outcomes and reducing expenditures for costly and complex to diagnose conditions like IBS is compelling and fits our thesis around precision diagnostics and value based care.”
Irritable bowel syndrome
IBS is estimated to affect approximately 800 million people, or around one in 10, globally.
More than 35 million Americans suffer from IBS and, of those, up to 80% also experience SIBO.
An IFFGD (the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders) survey of 2,000 patients showed diagnosis of their IBS was typically made 6.6 years after the symptoms began.
Unlike current treatment protocols reliant on exclusion, ibs-smart can offer a clear positive diagnosis, preventing potentially unnecessary invasive procedures and opening a faster path to treatment. The company’s trio-smart product, which aids in the identification of SIBO, uses a sealed breath collection system and a precise gas measurement device, providing both reliable sample collection and significant reduction of the risk of false positives and false negatives.
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