Carmenta Bioscience, Inc., a privately held medical technology company focused on maternal and fetal health, today announced it has secured over $2M in seed funding. Proceeds from the financing will support development and commercialization of a new, proprietary test to better diagnose and predict preeclampsia in pregnant women. The test is based on a worldwide, exclusive technology license from Stanford University. Arising in 5-8% of pregnant mothers, preeclampsia is a leading cause of both preterm birth and maternal and fetal death.

'We are pleased to count among our financial supporters several influential members of the life science venture community, the entire Carmenta management team, the Life Science Angels, as well as noted scientists and physicians dedicated to improving the lives of mothers and their babies. These funds will enable Carmenta to demonstrate clinical validity and enable a soft launch of the test,' said Dr. Matthew Cooper, Carmenta's President and Chief Executive Officer. The technology was discovered by Carmenta's co-founders, Drs. Atul Butte and Bruce Ling of Stanford University. Their research uncovered a novel combination of clinically relevant, proprietary protein biomarkers in serum capable of identifying pregnant mothers with preeclampsia. Carmenta's test demonstrated extremely high sensitivity and specificity in an initial trial funded by the March of Dimes and the SPARK program at Stanford School of Medicine.

Camille Samuels will join the Carmenta Board of Directors as a result of the financing. 'Cami brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our board. Her background makes her ideally suited to guide Carmenta forward as we develop and prepare to commercialize our diagnostic test for preeclampsia,' commented Dr. Cooper.

'As a healthcare professional and mother, I am thrilled to join the Carmenta team. It is exciting to be a part of the confluence of promising technology and a highly talented team tackling such an important issue in maternal/fetal health,' stated Ms. Samuels. Ms. Samuels previously served on the Board or as a Board Observer of other successful diagnostic companies, including ParAllele BioScience (now Affymetrix; NASDAQ: AFFX) and Genomic Health (NASDAQ: GHDX).

About Carmenta Bioscience

Carmenta Bioscience is a privately held, medical technology company focused on advancing maternal and fetal health by applying a systems biology approach to the diagnosis and prediction of preeclampsia. Carmenta's products in development combine proprietary computational algorithms with novel serum protein measurements to classify pregnant mothers at risk for preeclampsia. For more information regarding Carmenta Bioscience, please visit www.carmentabio.com.