Molecular diagnostics firm raises £11m in latest funding round

QuantuMDx, a UK-based life sciences company developing point-of-care molecular diagnostics, has raised £11 million in its latest funding round.

Proceeds will be used to complete manufacturing and commercial scale up of Q-POC, QuantuMDx’s rapid, PCR point of care diagnostic system which detects SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. 

The £11 million funding has been structured as a convertible loan, enabling participation from the Future Fund, a scheme designed by the UK government and delivered by the British Business Bank. 

Jonathan O’Halloran, co-founder and chief executive, QuantuMDx, said: “This funding round will further support QuantuMDx as we scale up manufacturing and commercial capacity for the launch of Q-POC, our rapid point of care molecular diagnostic system. The Company has been through a transformational year, with the Q-POC system now available for research use and currently going through CE-IVD marking, ahead of our full commercial launch.

“I would like to thank our longstanding investors, who contributed three-quarters of the private investor funding for this round, for their continued support. Equally, we’re thrilled to welcome new stakeholders onboard, including the Future Fund, to help drive QuantuMDx forward, and to enable the roll out of our ground-breaking technology across the UK and Europe.”

The latest funding round brings the total of new investment raised by QuantuMDx, since January 2020, to £37 million. This includes £16 million in government funding received last year to accelerate development and scale-up of the Q-POC system, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as £10 million in convertible loan notes.

Q-POC is a portable, PCR device offering rapid, sample-to-answer, molecular diagnostic testing at the point of care, with results in approximately 30 minutes. The Q-POC system comprises a sample collection kit, single-use test cassette and analyser. It can be used in a wide range of settings including emergency rooms, ICU and test and trace initiatives.