A molecular diagnostics company based in Frederick, Maryland has raised $4 million in a private debt and security offering, according to a filing Thursday from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Akonni Biosystems Inc. said in the filing that it is seeking to raise an additional $2 million.
The company was founded in 2003 and has been issued 17 parents in the United States and 24 international patents. Its product development has been supported by a series of government grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.
Commercial products in Akonni’s near-term pipeline include drugs to treat tuberculosis, upper respiratory infections, viral encephalitis, and hospital-acquired infections. Earlier this month, it received a $300,000 contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Charles Daitch is the chief executive officer and founder of the company., which has a 20,000-square-foot facility in Frederick near Ft. Detrick, the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
Before founding Akonni, Daitch was recruited by HandyLab Inc., a microfluidics diagnostic company, to serve as vice president of research and development. Prior, Daitch launched a biodefense product development facility and business unit for PSR/Veridian Corp.
Akonni is a Native American word that translates to “an attraction to the mysteries of nature, with a deep desire to understand those mysteries.”
The company claimed a Rule 506 (b) exemption for the filing. Companies relying on the Rule 506 exemption do not have to register their offering of securities with the SEC, but they must file a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.
