Sapphiros acquires Biocrucible to accelerate diagnostics platform

Mills & Reeve has acted for the majority shareholders of Biocrucible, a Cambridge based molecular diagnostics company, on their sale to Sapphiros.

Biocrucible is a molecular diagnostics company which applies isothermal amplification methods to disposable and point-of-care diagnostic technologies and seeks to enhance the behaviour and kinetics of engineered biological systems using its Molten Tags technology.

The platform is currently being developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, although the technology can also be used for the detection of other respiratory and non-respiratory pathogens.

Sapphiros, an investment firm founded by KKR, and Namal Nawana, the former CEO of both Smith & Nephew and Alere, has been established to invest in growth-stage companies offering sophisticated near-patient diagnostic technologies.

The acquisition by Sapphiros will provide further investment and operational support to accelerate Biocrucible’s platform to market.

Mills & Reeve acted for the majority shareholders of Biocrucible, which has been a client of the firm since they were a start-up.

Niall Armes, chief scientific officer at Biocrucible said: “This is an incredibly exciting moment for myself and the whole Biocrucible team who have built an amazing new molecular detection biochemistry.

“We will push hard to bring the next generation of molecular detection products right to where they are needed – in the home, in the doctor’s surgery, and in low-resource settings.

“This is a very personal opportunity for me finally to realise my ambition to lead the diagnostics sector with advanced cutting-edge technology solutions. We intend to make molecular diagnostics as accessible as their lower performance lateral flow cousins.”

Dr David Brooks, CEO of Biocrucible, added: “The acquisition of Biocrucible by Sapphiros is a powerful validation of our approach to develop market-leading consumer molecular diagnostics. We look forward to working together with Sapphiros to scale our technology and deliver tangible benefits to patients worldwide.”