FluoretiQ Limited the award-winning start-up, pioneering NANOPLEX a 15-minute proprietary diagnostic platform for bacterial infections today announced the completion of a £1.1 million, pre-series A investment. The round was led by early-stage life science investors, Deepbridge Capital LLP, with significant participation from MAINStream, OION, SAIC and existing investors. This investment will enable the team at FluoretiQ to produce trial units of their first NANOPLEX™ product, a 15-minute UTI (urinary tract infection) diagnostic device.
“FluoretiQ perfectly represents the type of highly innovative and growth-focused companies Deepbridge Capital is committed to supporting within the sector-specific Deepbridge Life Sciences EIS fund; a great example of the importance of the Enterprise Investment Scheme,” commented Dr. Savvas Neophytou, Partner & Head of Life Sciences, Deepbridge Capital LLP. “Neciah has built a great team, eager to take on the significant challenge this market demands, and we are pleased to be working with them on this next exciting stage of their journey.”
FluoretiQ is developing a family of antibiotic stewardship products that identify a true and correct need for antibiotic prescription. NANOPLEX™ provides laboratory quality results, 200 times faster than laboratory analysis, helping clinicians meet their antibiotic stewardship targets. The 15-minute NANOPLEX™ assay uses glycan-based probes to find and quantify important bacterial species directly from samples. FluoretiQ’s products will be an important tool in the wake of reports showing that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is growing faster than expected.
In a report prepared for the UK government in 2014** AMR was predicted to reach 10 million cases by 2050 and exceed cancer as the leading cause of death across the world. Within just 5 years, the number of directly attributable AMR deaths has increased by 181%*.
“Recent headlines in the LANCET also highlight the need for urgent action to get solutions to preserve the efficacy of current and future antibiotics. These funds will enable us to build cutting-edge, rapid diagnostic products that enable true antibiotic stewardship. We’re so fortunate to have a growing list of committed and visionary investors.” said FluoretiQ CEO, Dr. Neciah Dorh.
Angel investor, entrepreneur and medical doctor, Dr. Leonid Shapiro commented on his decision to invest in FluoretiQ "I was impressed with both FlouretiQ's innovation in bacterial detection and their quest to solve a much-needed problem in managing urinary infections in our nation's elderly.”
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About Fluoretiq Ltd.
FluoretiQ Limited is a Bristol, UK based diagnostics company that has developed NANOPLEX™. A proprietary technology platform that cuts the time to diagnose bacterial infections from days to minutes. Products built on the platform will enable doctors to confirm infection within minutes, stopping the use of incorrect and unnecessary prescription of antibiotics, in-line with the global goal for antibiotic stewardship.
About Deepbridge Capital
Formed in 2010, Deepbridge was founded with the aim of building an investment team that could redefine the growth capital market. Our purpose is to provide reassurance to investors by enabling them to invest alongside our team of passionate, experienced and fair-minded specialists. As investment specialists in the technology, life sciences and renewable energy sectors, we work with investee companies throughout their funding journey with an eye always on producing a suitable exit for our investors.
About OION
Oxford Investment Opportunity Network Limited (OION Ltd) is part of Oxford Innovation and is one of the largest angel networks in the UK, focusing on technology companies from Oxford and across the country. We link carefully selected investment opportunities with investors through regular Showcase events.
About SAIC
Southern Angel Investors Club is a group of business entrepreneurs and investment specialists who are former members of Surrey Investors Club and Angels 5K. Having made a success of our own businesses, we decided to work together to share our knowledge and combine our resources to help other entrepreneurs.
About MAINstream
MAINstream is a network for business angel investors established by Michelmores in 2019 to help accelerate the growth of angel investing in the region. All members are UKBAA registered investors and experienced entrepreneurs seeking opportunities to actively invest in, and provide ongoing support to, innovative start-ups and exciting disruptive ventures. Many of our members have themselves started, scaled and exited successful businesses.
About AMR
Learn more about Antimicrobial Resistance in our recent article: https://medium.com/@j.preece/halting-the-antimicrobial-resistance-amr-pandemic-8e4f145dd8f3?source=social.linkedin
*”Tackling antimicrobial resistance 2019–2024 The UK’s five-year national action plan”
**“Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis” Published online on January 20 2022
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For more information please contact: Mr. James Preece: at j.preece@fluoretiq.com
www.fluoretiq.com