Metra Biosystems said it has raised an additional $2.4 millionin its second round of venture financing, bringing the totalraised to $8.4 million.

New investors in the second round are Kleiner Perkins Caufield& Byers and Metra's employees. All the original investors fromthe current round also participated, including Alpha Partners,Aperture Associates, Asset Management Co., DelphiBioVentures and Institutional Venture Partners.

The Palo Alto, Calif., company was founded in 1989 to developresearch and diagnostic products for diseases and degenerativeconditions of bone and cartilage. Its first product, the CrosslinksImmunoassay to screen for metabolic bone disorders, will belaunched for research purposes this spring. The test, which isdesigned to complement other diagnostic tools such as bonedensitometry, is in U.S. and European clinical trials.

The company raised $3.3 million in previous rounds. -- KB

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