Access to quicker and more effective diagnostic tests for cancers and infectious diseases has moved a step closer after DestiNA Genomics, a University of Edinburgh spin-out company, completed a €1.2 million (£930,000) equity investment.
The funding will provide the firm with greater capabilities to commercialise the pioneering medical tests
that will ultimately benefit both patients and healthcare systems, with earlier diagnosis cutting the costs of treatment.
DestiNA Genomics chief executive Hugh Ilyine said the focus of this round of funding will be to provide
better testing for bowel cancer, allowing medics to diagnose a patient more effectively and therefore
provide more suitable, effective treatment.
Involved in the funding was the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.
Kerry Sharp, head of the lender, said: "We are pleased to be part of this investment into a forward-thinking company addressing important unmet medical needs w i t h h o m e g r o w n technology."
She also highlighted the SIB's dedication to helping "innovative Scottish companies with international
ambitions to commercialise their technology".
Ms Sharp said: "We look forward to continuing to work with DestiNA to help realise its ambitious growth plans."
Scottish Enterprise has already backed the company via its Proof of Concept, SMART: SCOTLAND programme.The funding round was led by the Vitro Group of Spain, along with its subsidiary and DestiNA's technology partner Master Diagnostica.
More support came from the University of Edinburgh's venture investment arm Old College Capital, and
private investors in the UK, Spain, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.
The DestiNA technology arose from the invention and patent of Dr Juan Diaz Mochon and Professor
Mark Bradley in the School of Chemistry at Edinburgh University, with the "SMART Nucleobase"
patent now approved for grant in the US, Europe and beyond.
The global molecular diagnostics market is estimated to reach about $8 billion by 2013, growing by about 10 per cent a year. Mr Ilyine also praised Scotland for its "prowess and skill" in medical research,
and underlined DestiNA's international workforce and outlook.
As for when the medical tests will become available, he said the aim is to achieve the first sales in the
second half of 2016, initially in Europe and then the US.
Mr Ilyine also noted the altruistic nature of the diagnostic work, with those involved in looking "to see good things happen to people," improving the health of individuals by eventually bringing about
a comprehensive range of effective molecular diagnostic tests.
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