A University of Edinburgh spinout has secured £1.6 million in fresh funding as it launches its liquid biopsy kits in the United States.

Liquid biopsy is when fragments of tumour DNA circulating in a patient’s bloodstream are analysed by scientists – a less invasive process to study cancer.

BioCaptiva was founded by Jeremy Wheeler, Matthew Simmonte Owens and Mark Bradley to prepare blood samples in a way that preserves fragile cell-free DNA. Its msX platform uses magnetic bead technology to capture DNA directly from whole blood.

The round was led by Archangels, with support from Old College Capital, BBI, Scottish Enterprise and new investor EverQuest Capital Partners.