Wellesley, Mass., May 29, 2013 – Lumicell announced it was awarded a $1 million accelerator loan from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), a quasi-public agency charged with implementing the state’s 10-year, $1-billion Life Sciences Initiative. The MLSC’s Accelerator Loan Program provides loans of up to $1 million to early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing.
“This accelerator loan is of critical importance to the next stage of our company’s growth,” said W. David Lee, CEO of Lumicell. “As our company moves toward completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial in collaboration with Duke University Medical Center, this early funding will allow us to expand our staff and further deepen our roots in Massachusetts.”
Lumicell is addressing the number one challenge in cancer surgery – the need to remove all cancer cells within the tumor bed during the first surgery. In the field of cancer surgery, the goal is clean margins. The company is developing a revolutionary intraoperative imaging system that gives surgeons real-time visual feedback of residual cancer in the tumor bed.
Lumicell’s surgical system includes a cancer-targeted injectable imaging agent and a novel hand-held imaging device with exquisite single-cell detection. With this system, surgeons have the unprecedented ability to remove all cancer cells during an initial surgery eliminating the need for repeat surgeries. This image-guided technology system is designed to fit within the existing surgical workflow and takes less than 5 seconds to image the entire tumor bed.
The MLSC’s Accelerator Loan Program supports early-stage companies by providing loans that will match other sources of capital. By leveraging other sources of capital, the Accelerator Loan Program provides support to companies at the most critical stages of their development cycle, enabling them to conduct vital research and proof-of-concept studies and to attract subsequent investment while improving the odds of bringing cutting-edge innovation to the marketplace.
About Lumicell, Inc.
Lumicell is a leader in the field of image-guided cancer surgery. The company is developing a revolutionary intraoperative imaging system that gives surgeons real-time visual feedback of residual cancer in the tumor bed. Lumicell’s surgical system includes a cancer-targeted injectable imaging agent and a novel hand-held imaging device with exquisite single-cell detection. The unprecedented ability to see and remove all cancer cells during the initial surgery has the potential to significantly improve surgical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by eliminating the need for repeat surgeries. Lumicell is initially investigating its imaging system in patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer and sarcomas. Additional future indications will include surgeries for lung, prostate, ovarian, colorectal and brain cancers. For more information, please visit www.lumicell.com.
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a 10-year, $1-billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The MLSC’s mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties among sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
About the Life Sciences Accelerator ProgramIn order to expand life-sciences-related employment opportunities, promote health-related innovations and stimulate research and development, manufacturing and commercialization in the life sciences, the Life Sciences Accelerator program provides loans to companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing in Massachusetts. Target entities are generally early-stage life sciences companies with a high-potential for technology commercialization, rapid growth and downstream private equity financing. The program is designed to help sustain these companies through a critical stage of development and to leverage additional sources of capital to bring cutting-edge innovation to the marketplace.
