* IPO could raise 70-100 mln euros
* Rising biotech interest among European investors
* Follows flood of IPOs in the United States (Adds estimated proceeds, background)
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) - Belgian molecular diagnosis company Biocartis Group is planning a listing on Euronext Brussels to fund expansion, it said on Wednesday, seeking to take advantage of growing European interest in the sector.
The company could raise between 70 million euros and 100 million euros ($75 million to $107 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) provisionally set to launch mid-April, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
European investor interest in biotech companies lags that in the United States, where there has been a flood of IPOs in the sector on the back of a soaring market.
The U.S. Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has surged 115 percent in the past two years on the commercial success of a handful of large-cap companies and exciting scientific progress at a range of smaller ones.
Europe has a far thinner line-up of promising biotech start-ups, but Belgium and the Netherlands are viewed as regional hotspots.
The relative weakness of Europe as a biotech funding centre means that some businesses are turning to the U.S. market.
France's Cellectis, which is working in the hot area of cancer immunotherapy, raised $228 million through the sale of American Depositary Shares on Nasdaq last week. [ID: nASB09D1A]
Belgium's Cardio3 Biosciences has also said it plans to seek an additional U.S. listing.
Biocartis, based in the Belgian town of Mechelen, employs about 200 people and launched its testing system, known as Idylla, in September 2014. It can give results from a sample in between 40 and 150 minutes.
It plans to add four to five test procedures a year, including for solid tumours, such as in colon cancer, and infectious diseases from influenza to HIV and Ebola.
Biocartis is primarily focused on tests in oncology and infectious diseases and says these are respectively the fastest growing and largest segments of a molecular diagnosis market worth about $5 billion in annual revenue, expected to grow to $8 billion by 2018.
The company has partnership deals with Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Molecular.
Johnson & Johnson is also a shareholder, along with bioMerieux, Switzerland's Debiopharm, the Wellcome Trust and Korys, the investment vehicle of the family behind Belgian retail group Colruyt
KBC Securities will act as global coordinators of the IPO and serve as joint bookrunner with Kempen & Co and Petercam. ($1 = 0.9306 euros) (Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Pravin Char and David Goodman)