Lucerno Dynamics, a Morrisville startup, is developing a very successful track record when it comes to financing: An NC IDEA grant winner and now outside capital.
Lucerno disclosed raising $3.5 million in a securities filing last week.
The fund-raise follows a close on $950,000 of $1 million it sought in a debt offering back in January.
In 2012, Lucerno was one of five emerging startups to share in $200,000 of NC IDEA grants.
Lucerno is developing systems to detect and quantify the uptake of radio-labeled biomarkers.
“Our breakthrough system can dynamically detect, quantify, and record with high-fidelity the presence of radio-labeled biomarkers in tissue quickly, safely, and inexpensively,” the company says.
“This technology has potential human applications in assuring the quality of PET injections, measuring arterial input function non-invasively, assessing inflammation, monitoring therapy response of superficial tumors, and several others.
“Related technology has been developed for use in animal research for preclinical evaluation of compounds.”
Lucerno’s investigational technology is intended to let clinicians know if a solid tumor is responding to treatment early in the cycle. The noninvasive device can als o act as a quality control for PET/CT imaging.
The company was founded in 2011.
The NC Biotechnology Center awarded Lucerno a $150,000 Small Business Research Loan in February 2014, and in March 2015 provided a $3,000 Industrial Intern award to enable ECU dentistry student Ryan Le, MBA, to help Lucerno develop a business plan for its preclinical cancer research tool.
Lucerno had sought to raise more than $5.6 million in the fund-raiser, according to the SEC filing.
