US-based chemical multinational Dow Chemical Company is among the investors which have contributed to a $13m round of series B funding for local medical diagnostics company NanoMR.
The round was led by US-based venture capital (VC) firm Excel Venture Management, and also participated in by peers Healthcare Ventures, VSpring Capital and Sun Mountain Capital.
VSpring and Sun Mountain had previously joined Dow in investing in NanoMR’s A round in June 2008, which raised $5.5m. The company has raised at least $18m.
Founded in 2007, NanoMR specialises in diagnostic systems intended to identify infections attacking the bloodstream. The company’s immunomagnetic technology allows it to isolate the pathogens from the blood, to be diagnosed more quickly than current methods.
Steve Gullans, who is joining the board of NanoMR from Excel, said: "Currently, clinical microbiology laboratories depend on culturing micro-organisms from clinical samples prior to analysis. The time required for culturing – one to two days – means that results are rarely timely enough to influence choice of therapy and can often result in use of inappropriate antibiotics, jeopardizing a patient’s survival. NanoMR’s new system will identify pathogens in fewer than two hours, enabling rapid administration of the most appropriate antibiotic, resulting in better clinical outcomes and substantially reduced medical costs."
NanoMR plans to use the capital to develop its range of diagnostic products for the market and conduct clinical trials. Potential future products could see NanoMR expanding its pathogen capture technology into industrial and food microbiology, as well as further medical applications.