NEW YORK ─ Birmingham, UK-based startup Linear Diagnostics on Wednesday said that it has secured £800,000 ($1.1 million) that will enable it to start developing a hardware platform for point-of-care diagnostic tests.
The funding, representing a second round of financing for Linear Dx, includes backing from Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Equity Finance, University of Birmingham, and UKI2S Fund. UK Future Fund matched the funding from the initial investors, the company said.
Linear Diagnostics was founded in 2011 as a spinout from the University of Birmingham’s School of Biosciences. Its diagnostics technology is based on research into linear dichroism, which uses polarized light to detect the presence of molecules in solutions.
According to the company's website, linear dichroism detects a shift in the plane of polarized light when a target is bound to a detector. The platform uses antibodies to detect antigens or oligonucleotides to capture complementary target DNA sequences, and can detect multiple infections in the same sample in around 15 minutes by labeling each infection indicator with a different colored dye, the firm said.
Linear Dx added that its platform has achieved clinical levels of accuracy in tests in a laboratory. It is developing a rapid test for chlamydia and gonorrhea and has an initial focus on detecting sexually transmitted infections.