NEW YORK – Immunology firm MARAbio Systems said Tuesday that it has closed a $19 million Series A funding round led by MAK Capital One.
The Salt Lake City-based company said the funding will support the commercial launch of its lead product, an autoantibody-based blood test for maternal autoantibody-related autism (MARA).
Based on research by Judy Van de Water, MARAbio's founder and chief science adviser as well as a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, the company's test assesses whether women are carriers of the antibodies that cause MARA and can be used to predict MARA prior to pregnancy and to diagnose the condition in children as early as birth.
MARAbio is also working on interventions to limit the incidence of this subtype of autism. According to the company, MARA comprises roughly 20 percent of autism cases and is associated with more severe cases of the condition.
"MARAbio has developed the first-ever blood test for a mother that detects autoimmune-related autism in her child, and our Series A funding round is a significant milestone that will accelerate our ability to bring this test to families in 2025," MARAbio CEO Michael Paul said in a statement. "MAK Capital's investment will also support our efforts to develop a precision immunology platform for both the diagnosis of autism as well as the initial development of potential therapeutic interventions aimed at neutralizing the antibodies that cause MARA, ultimately preventing the MARA subtype and reducing the overall prevalence of autism."
As part of MAK Capital One's investment, Michael Kaufman and Craig Nemiroff of MAK will join MARAbio's board of directors. The funding round is open to new investors until the end of the year.