The Richland company that makes radioactive "seeds" that can be inserted into solid tumors to treat cancer is touting a banner start to the year.

IsoRay Medical said it closed a $6 million private funding round at the end of January and has since raised more than $1.3 million through a new placement opened Feb. 1 to accommodate excess demand from investors.

It also signed a licensing agreement with a Belgian company that IsoRay says will reduce manufacturing and production costs of Cesium-131, the radioactive isotope it makes to treat prostate cancer. The collaborator, International Brachytherapy, can produce polymer seeds, which IsoRay CEO Roger Girard said offer advantages over the titanium seeds his company currently manufactures.