Zyomyx, a US-based diagnostics company, has completed the first closing of its series 2 preferred financing totaling $12m, which was led by pharmaceutical company Mylan at approximately $6m and included conversion of certain existing funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Zyomyx concurrently entered an exclusive developing world distribution agreement with Mylan for its proprietary point-of-care CD4 T-cell count test for HIV Peter Wagner, president and chief executive officer of Zyomyx, said: “We are extremely pleased that Mylan agreed to lead our Series 2 Preferred financing, which will be used to fund initial regulatory approvals and production capacity for our CD4 test. The investment underscores the value of both our CD4 test and our proprietary technology.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation previously awarded Zyomyx grants through a global initiative for CD4 product development, and has since provided additional investments directly to Zyomyx for product development and evaluation trials in Africa.
Heather Bresch, chief executive officer of Mylan, said: ” We expect that this distribution agreement with Zyomyx and our collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be a true game changer in improving access to treatment of HIV in the developing world by enabling rapid, low-cost testing of patients in any location, however remote, thereby ensuring immediate enrollment on treatment.
“Further, this distribution agreement and investment represents Mylan’s entry into diagnostics as we strive to meet the evolving needs of our customers and patients. It will transform Mylan from a leading provider of HIV treatments to a leading provider of HIV health care solutions, which will continue to differentiate Mylan in this important area.”