NEW YORK ─ QuantuMDx on Wednesday announced that it has raised £11 million ($15.1 million) in its latest financing round to support manufacturing and commercial scale-up of its Q-POC rapid, PCR-based point-of-care diagnostic system which detects SARS-CoV-2.
The Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK-based firm said the financing has been structured as a convertible loan, enabling participation from the Future Fund, a program designed by the UK government and delivered by the British Business Bank.
Q-POC is portable and enables sample-to-answer testing with results in approximately 30 minutes. It comprises a sample collection kit, single-use test cassette, and analyzer, and can be used in a range of settings, including emergency rooms and intensive-care units, and for test and trace initiatives, QuantuMDx said.
QuantuMDx is scaling up its manufacturing capacity in preparation for the launch of the MDx system, the firm's Cofounder and CEO Jonathan O'Halloran said in a statement. The system is available for research use "and currently going through CE-IVD marking ahead of our full commercial launch," and the latest financing will support system roll-out across the UK and Europe, he added.
The latest round of financing brings the total amount raised by QuantuMDx since January 2020 to £37 million. That includes £16 million in government funding last year to accelerate the development and scale-up of the Q-POC system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and £10 million in convertible loan notes.