SAN DIEGO, January 5, 2017/PRNewswire/ -- Molecular Stethoscope, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel blood-based early detection and disease monitoring tests, announced today that it has completed an $8.2 million seed financing. Investors include DCVC (Data Collective), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Index Ventures, one of the top five U.S. research universities, and several prominent individual investors. The funding will enable Molecular Stethoscope to continue development of its proprietary first-in-class liquid biopsy tests for its initial applications in cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases and to accelerate discovery in additional markets.

In addition, Molecular Stethoscope has signed a two-year research collaboration agreement with Pfizer to develop a blood-based assay that can help identify those subjects at critical stages of disease progression in key cardiometabolic conditions.

“We are delighted to close our financing with such top-tier venture capital and corporate investors; it is truly a testament to the transformational potential of this platform technology,” said Tina S. Nova, Ph.D., the Company’s President and CEO. “We have made significant progress over the past year and have demonstrated proof-of-concept in several important diagnostic areas. We look forward to working with Pfizer to further demonstrate the value of our technology in helping to aid research, particularly in areas of high unmet medical need.”

Since being founded in 2015, Molecular Stethoscope has developed proprietary technology that utilizes circulating cell-free RNA in blood to monitor organ damage and disease. This unique approach provides a real-time "snapshot" of organ health using RNA to represent a patient's actual and immediate phenotype (physical and biochemical characteristics), allowing for a more dynamic assessment of healthy versus diseased states. The Company's rapid, accurate and non-invasive tests could potentially revolutionize diagnosis and drug development for a variety of diseases that have thus far resisted management.

About Molecular Stethoscope, Inc.
Molecular Stethoscope is taking groundbreaking insights and applying them to patient health. The Company has developed technology originating in the laboratories of Dr. Stephen Quake, co-president of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Stanford University, and Dr. Eric Topol, Director, Scripps Translational Science Institute, and professor of Genomics at the Scripps Research Institute, that will provide early detection and disease monitoring in critical and often hard-to-detect areas. Molecular Stethoscope spans a multibillion dollar market opportunity that can ultimately lower healthcare costs by allowing earlier intervention in disease. For more information, please visit www.molecularstethoscope.com.

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