OXFORD Nanopore Technologies has received £70 million from the French diagnostics company BioMérieux to support the development of in vitro diagnostics products.
The deal resulted in BioMérieux picking up a 3.5 per cent stake or 29.02 million shares in the British biotech company, co-founded by Gordon Sanghera.
The equity subscription was priced at about 238p per share, the six-month average price, the Times reported.
BioMérieux, a leader in vitro diagnostics, is expected to increase its shareholding in the Oxford Science Park-based firm by another 3.5 per cent via market purchases.
“This investment will enable us to deliver rapid, accessible, and affordable clinical tools more quickly to address unmet needs and improve healthcare worldwide," Sanghera said of the deal announced on Friday (20).
As part of their strategic partnership, the two companies will establish an IVD advisory board to advance nanopore technology into routine clinical use.
Oxford Nanopore develops devices used to sequence DNA and RNA that help monitor changes to an electrical current as nucleic acids are passed through a protein nanopore. The resulting signals are analysed to provide the specific DNA or RNA sequence.
The company counts IP Group and the Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings among its investors and Sanghera, 62, has been its chief executive since it was spun out of Oxford University in 2005.
Oxford Nanopore also unveiled a joint development collaboration with the nonprofit organisation Mayo Clinic to develop new clinical tests for diseases.
The multi-year tie-up will focus on a range of applications from translational research in human genetics to the detection of genetic predisposition to cancer.
BioMérieux picks up 3.5 per cent stake in Oxford Nanopore
The strategic investment by the French diagnostics company is aimed at supporting the development of in vitro diagnostics products
