C2N Diagnostics has received a $10m strategic investment out of Samsung’s life science investment fund.
The US company said the cash injection would help to scale its clinical laboratory services and advanced diagnostic solutions in the field of brain health.
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C2N is best known for its PrecivityAD2 blood test that can be used to screen for Alzheimer’s disease in primary care settings.
In 2024, the company published data in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) demonstrating that PrecivityAD2 had an accuracy of 90% in identifying Alzheimer’s in patients with memory loss, at a pre-defined, single binary cutoff compared to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis or amyloid PET analysis.
“We greatly appreciate the confidence Samsung brings to this partnership as we believe it affirms the value and quality of our advanced diagnostic solutions,” said C2N CEO Joel Braunstein.
“Samsung’s important investment will allow C2N to further strengthen our capabilities, expand our commercial scale, and innovate next generation diagnostic tests that can improve patients’ lives.”
Samsung established its first life science fund – a joint venture between the company’s group entities Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis, and Samsung C&T – in 2021 with a capital commitment of 240bn Korean won ($165m).
The life science fund comprises one facet of Samsung’s five-year investment plan. Unveiled in 2022, the company said it planned to invest 450trn South Korean won ($356bn) in areas including semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals, with ‘aggressive’ investments to be made in the biopharmaceuticals sector to make it as successful as its chip business.
To date, Samsung’s fund has invested in biotechs including BrickBio, Latus Bio, and Generate Biomedicines.
Jaywoo Kim, executive vice president of Samsung C&T Corporation, commented: “We are confident that C2N Diagnostics will further grow its leading position in the industry by serving global biopharma customers as well as medical service providers with its well-established blood biomarker testing portfolio.”
Alzheimer’s disease currently affects more than 55 million people worldwide and is projected to affect 150 million by 2050. According to GlobalData analysis, the cost-effectiveness of blood-based biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s, like C2N’s, could improve accessibility, particularly in underserved areas, facilitating earlier interventions and potentially delaying the onset of more severe cognitive decline.
Multiple companies are currently developing blood-based Alzheimer’s tests. In 2024, Roche secured a breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Elecsys pTau217 plasma biomarker assay.
