San Antonio biotech goes public raising nearly $8M
SEPTEMBER 9, 2022
As published in the San Antonio Business Journal
By: W. Scott Bailey – Senior Reporter, San Antonio Business Journal
Roughly eight years after its launch, San Antonio-based biotech bioAffinity Technologies Inc. has wrapped up its initial public offering, raising approximately $7.8 million.
The Alamo City company is now trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol BIAF.
The organization developed noninvasive, early-stage diagnostics to detect cancer and other lung diseases.
Company officials plan to use the proceeds from the offering to expand existing operations and commercialization of bioAffinity’s core product — CyPath Lung. The capital could also support its pursuit of regulatory approvals and research tied to the development of additional diagnostics and cancer therapeutics.
BioAffinity is currently in a quiet period, per U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission restrictions, but CEO Maria Zannes did confirm the company will keep its headquarters in San Antonio and she will continue to lead the organization.
Shares of the company were trading at about $4.70 midday on Sept. 9.
It’s been nearly a year to the day since Zannes said bioAffinity was on the cusp of commercializing its initial product. San Antonio-based Precision Pathology Services is now marketing CyPath Lung as a Laboratory Developed Test.
Zannes acquired technology from New Mexico company in 2014 that led to the development of bioAffinity’s core product. Then, she made a pivotal geographic move.
“When I looked around, I did not find the support and expertise in New Mexico that I’ve found in San Antonio,” she told me years ago.
In 2017, the San Antonio Economic Development Corp. invested $150,000 in the company. That may not look like much now, but it was critical support at the time.
Zannes said it showed other potential investors that San Antonio was “interested in keeping us and helping us grow.”
In February 2021, Zannes confirmed that bioAffinity had secured a non-binding letter of intent from Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science Co. Ltd. to evaluate its initial product. She said China represented a $5 billion market for CyPath Lung.
