Samsung to invest $10 million in US-based C2N Diagnostics

Samsung Group companies will jointly invest $10 million in C2N Diagnostics LLC, a U.S.-based company specializing in blood-based Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics, suggesting the South Korean conglomerate’s foray into the diagnostics business.

Samsung C&T Corp., the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, announced on Thursday that it decided to invest $10 million in C2N through the Samsung Life Science Fund, jointly created by Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics Co. and Samsung Bioepis Co. and managed by their affiliated investment arm Samsung Venture Investment Corp.

The investment is expected to pave the way for Samsung’s venture into the diagnostics technology sector, said Kim Jay-woo, Samsung C&T's executive vice president.

Samsung C&T is considering advancing into the diagnostics business, separate from its bio subsidiaries’ contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and biosimilar businesses.

C2N, a specialty diagnostics company for brain health, offers a blood test that is a safer, more cost-effective alternative to traditional diagnostic methods, such as amyloid PET-CT scans or cerebrospinal fluid tests, in accurately measuring Alzheimer's-related proteins, including amyloid-beta.

The US biotech company is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Alzheimer’s disease-specific fluid biomarker tests, which could become a game-changer in the early detection and treatment of the cognitive impairment.

“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,” C2N CEO Dr. Joel Braunstein said in a statement.

Early detection and biomarker-based diagnostics are critical to the treatment of cognitive impairment, especially since global Alzheimer’s cases are expected to rise sharply in the coming decades.

Samsung’s investment follows a series of funding rounds supporting C2N’s biomarker research and diagnostic test development.

In September 2024, the company secured a $15 million investment from the GHR Foundation to develop a tau tangles pathology test, which could further enhance the accuracy of Alzheimer’s staging.

C2N also received $7 million from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation earlier last year.

The Samsung Life Science Fund was established to accelerate growth in biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and innovative healthcare technologies.

By targeting companies like C2N, the fund aims to strengthen Samsung’s presence in the global life sciences sector and position it as a key player in precision medicine.

Write to Dae-Kyu Ahn at powerzanic@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.