Aptatek Biosciences, a Princeton, New Jersey-based clinical-stage diagnostics company, has completed the initial close of a financing round led by Canterbury Scientific Ltd. and Longview Innovation. The company did not disclose the amount raised or other financial terms.
The financing will support the clinical evaluation and continued development of PheCheck™, Aptatek’s first application of its HomeCheck™ platform for decentralized metabolic monitoring. PheCheck is being developed for quantitative at-home measurement of phenylalanine levels in people with phenylketonuria, or PKU.
PheCheck combines DNA aptamer-based sensing with a reusable handheld reader, single-use test cartridge and connected smartphone application. The system is designed to measure phenylalanine from a fingerstick blood sample and allow results and trends to be shared with care teams.
The device has received Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration and is being evaluated in a multi-site clinical validation study. PheCheck remains investigational, has not been cleared or approved by the FDA and is not commercially available.
Aptatek is a Columbia University spinout built around DNA aptamer technology developed by co-founders Tilla Worgall, MD, PhD, and Milan Stojanovic, PhD. Michael Boyce-Jacino, PhD, serves as chief executive officer.
The company previously completed a $4 million seed round in 2022 led by IP Group, with Canterbury Scientific and the National PKU Alliance participating. IP Group’s US operations later adopted the Longview Innovation name. Aptatek also announced additional financing tranches in 2024 and 2025.
