Trowbridge-based health diagnostic company Atlas Genetics has received a $20m (£13.3m) investment to expand the range of its latest innovative infectious disease testing devices and launch in the US.
The firm, which was set up in 2005, has developed pioneering ultra-rapid point-of-care (POC) tests for STI (sexually transmitted infections). Its latest system – called io – is at an advanced stage of development and is expected to be launched in Europe with the first test for chlamydia later this year. 
The latest round of funding – its third – will be used to accelerate the launch of the io system, start US clinical trials, and expand its range of tests available initially in the STI (sexually transmitted infections) and HAI (hospital acquired infections) markets.
The money has come from a syndicate which includes existing investors Novartis Venture Funds, Consort Medical, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., LSP, BB Biotech Ventures and South West Ventures Fund, and new investor RMI Partners – Eastern Europe’s largest global life sciences venture capital firm. The new financing follows £16m raised last year.
The io system is based on a patent-protected electrochemical sensor technology that combines speed, accuracy and low manufacturing costs. Each fully integrated cartridge contains all reagents and can carry out up to 24 different tests from a single patient sample.
Test results are available in under 30 minutes, which means the system can be used in primary care clinics yet are as accurate as those carried out in hospital laboratories.
This means clinicians can test a patient and start treatment in the same appointment. This is vital in the treatment of STIs, where a significant proportion of patients fail to return for test results or follow-on treatment.
Atlas chief executive officer Dr John Clarkson said: “We would like to thank our investors for their continued support and we are delighted to welcome RMI Partners to the syndicate. This is an exciting time for the company as we prepare our first product, a test for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia, for launch in Europe later this year.
“The funds raised will enable us to commercialise our io system and to build out a programme of much needed ‘test and treat’ assays in markets where time really does matter, both for the physician and for the patient.”
Maxim Gorbachev of RMI Partners added: “We have been impressed by what the Atlas management team have accomplished so far and the company’s near-term potential for growth. The proposed technology offers a ‘test and treat’ solution to improve patient outcomes, operational efficiencies, and reduce the overall cost of care.”
South West Ventures Fund (SWVF), the regional venture capital fund for the South West, first invested in Atlas Genetics in 2006 and has reinvested in the company throughout the period.
SWVF is managed by Technology Venture Partners based at the Innovation Centre at Bristol & Bath Science Park.
