San Diegos Celula Gets $15M for Molecular Diagnostics
Summary
Celula, a molecular diagnostic startup founded in San Diego five years ago, has raised $15 million in a secondary round of venture funding led by Palo Alto, CA-based Skyline Ventures, according to a VentureWire report today.Celula’s top executives did not return a call this afternoon seeking to confirm the report, although Skyline lists Celula as a portfolio company, as do two other new investors, CHL Medical Partners of Stamford, CT, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures of Oakland, CA.[Updated 5/19/10 11:00 am] Celula CEO John Osth tells me by e-mail today this is the same round that I noted two months ago (but did not describe in any detail) as part of a rundown of the biggest venture deals in San Diego during the first quarter of 2010.The company’s website says Celula develops innovative instruments for personalized diagnostics that use advanced micro-fluidics and other technologies.Skyline venture offers what may be a more succinct description, saying, “Celula is developing a prenatal diagnostic test based on isolation of fetal cells from the mother’s blood.” It might be worth noting that Celula co-founder Andy Katz was previously a senior executive at Genoptix Medical Laboratory (NASDAQ: GXDX), a Carlsbad, CA-based company that provides centralized diagnostic laboratory services for blood specialists.