Baltimore startup raises $3.5M as it prepares to seek FDA approval for new pneumonia test

By Matt Hooke – Reporter
July 18, 2022, 07:13am EDT
A Baltimore medical company that aims to make it easier to diagnose a deadly type of pneumonia raised $3.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round.

Pearl Diagnostics, led by Johns Hopkins University Professor Kieren Marr, plans to use the funding to focus on manufacturing, in preparation for the commercial launch of its urine antigen test for fungal pneumonia. The test is already approved for sale in Europe and the company is currently seeking approval in the United States as well. Pearl plans on submitting its test for FDA approval at the end of this year.

Pearl Diagnostics previously earned around $5 million from the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO), the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The company, originally called Mycomed Technologies, has been headquartered at the FastForward U incubator at Johns Hopkins University. The company originally sought to raise $2.5-$3 million. The round closed in April of this year, and was led by local investor John Cammack.

The test produced by Pearl aims to be faster and less invasive than

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