Inivata, a Cambridge UK leader in liquid biopsy, has completed a Series B fundraising of $52.6m.

Existing investors Woodford Patient Capital Trust, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) all participated alongside new backer RT Ventures.

As Business Weekly previously reported, the first close occurred in August 2018, with the final tranche of the over-subscribed round being received in March 2019, based on strong delivery against corporate milestones.

The funds will be used to advance the US commercial roll-out of the company’s InVisionFirst™-Lung liquid biopsy test, which recently received coverage determination for US Medicare patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), paving the way for the test to be used in routine clinical care.

This liquid biopsy test uses a simple blood draw to detect clinically relevant cancer mutations to provide molecular insights relevant to that patient. InVisionFirst-Lung is commercially available in the US where Inivata has a North Carolina base.

The Series B will also enable the company to accelerate the development of the InVision® liquid biopsy platform into new indications to drive the future growth of the business.

Clive Morris, Inivata’s CEO, (pictured) said: “This Series B financing allows us to commercialise our lead product in patients with advanced lung cancer, following our positive reimbursement decision.

“We also have an exciting portfolio of future products that will be advanced in parallel to maximise the benefits of our industry-leading InVision Liquid Biopsy platform to patients.

“We are grateful to our existing investors for their continued support and delighted to welcome RT Ventures to our already strong investor base. With these funds in place, we look forward to continuing our mission to transform the lives of cancer patients through the power of liquid biopsy.”

The Inivata technology is based on pioneering research from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge and reinforced by multiple high calibre publications.

Its lead product, InVisionFirst™-Lung, is commercially available and provides molecular insights that enable clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions for NSCLC patients.

Inivata is partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on InVisionFirst™-Lung and its wider platform, which is applicable to a range of cancer types.