NEW YORK ─ Antibiotic susceptibility test developer Gradientech said on Wednesday that it has closed an oversubscribed financing round totaling $9 million.
The financing round was oversubscribed by almost 200 percent and will support Gradientech in finalizing the development of its QuickMIC diagnostic system and initiating a market introduction, Sara Thorslund, the firm's CEO and cofounder, said in a statement.
QuickMIC is a microfluidic-based antibiotic susceptibility testing system based on phenotypic bacterial growth analysis.
"The large investment interest also indicates an increased awareness of infectious disease and sepsis," Thorslund said. "Antimicrobial resistance and sepsis are serious global health threats that will last far beyond the current pandemic, and our firm belief is that the focus of coming life science investments will reflect this future scenario."
Uppsala, Sweden-based Gradientech said that the financing round was executed by a combination of existing shareholders and several new investors appointed by Redeye, a Swedish financial advisor.
The firm announced in March that it had been awarded SEK6.3 million ($634,000) to help commercialize QuickMIC from the Bio-X Accelerate program, an initiative from Uppsala Bio to support life science companies in eastern and central Sweden.