The head of a Scottish company developing rapid cell analysis technology has completed another multi-million pound funding round to drive sales of its first commercial product.
Cytomos chief executive David Rigterink welcomed the fresh capital injection in what he described as a "difficult market" for fundraising in the life sciences sector, adding that it has been a "huge boost for the business".
The Edinburgh-based company has received £5 million from existing investors Archangels, Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise and the British Business Bank. It follows a £4m funding round last year which was supported by the same group of investors.
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Cytomos has developed a benchtop cell analyser, Celledonia, which is based on the company's AuraCyt technology platform. Celledonia is said to have the potential to transform drug discovery and development by speeding up the evaluation of new medical therapies.
Mr Rigterink said the company is looking to establish a foothold in North America, with a pipeline of trials planned with global partners and strong interest in co-development opportunities from high-profile technology developers and a major pharmaceutical group.
“Successfully raising £5m within a difficult market has been a huge boost for the business," he said. "The result is testament to the team’s hard work in delivering our first commercial product with international early adopters.
"Cytomos now has the right building blocks in place to scale quickly, establish a foothold in the US, and continue developing our single cell analysis technology to support advancements in biological drug development and manufacturing automation.”
The company currently employs 21 people and expects to add another four members of staff in the coming year as it continues to scale up its operations.
Founded by University of Edinburgh graduate Dr Keith Muir, the company has been supported by the Archangels investment group since its inception. The first significant seed funding round took place in 2018.
"Cytomos has gone from strength to strength, achieving commercialisation earlier this year marks a critical inflection point for the business," said Sarah Hardy, director at Archangels. "With new premises secured and a robust plan to de-risk the supply chain, we’re looking forward to helping David and the team scale their operations and secure access to new markets.”
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