Press Release.
Investment supports commercial roll-out of Idylla™, Biocartis’ flagship molecular diagnostics system, and the development of the system’s menu of diagnostics tests.
Mechelen (Belgium), September 4, 2014 (8.30 CET) – Biocartis announced today it has successfully completed an EUR 64.5 million equity fundraising, one of the largest private rounds in the European life sciences industry in recent years. The additional capital will fund the commercial roll-out of Idylla™ in Europe later this year, and the expansion of its commercial reach beyond Europe as of next year. Furthermore, the fundraising will also support and accelerate the development of a wide range of diagnostic tests for Idylla™. With this round, the total capital invested in Biocartis to date amounts to EUR 240 million (approx. USD 316 million).
The capital round is subscribed by Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Hitachi Chemical Corporation, PMV Tina Fund and a few existing and new family offices.
Hilde Windels, CFO at Biocartis, stated:
“We believe this major fundraising demonstrates the support for Biocartis’ ambition to make personalized medicine a truly sustainable, everyday practice. By intensifying the development of our assay menu, we intend to demonstrate the potential of Idylla™ in the field of oncology, infectious diseases and beyond. We thank our investors for their ongoing support and their belief in Biocartis’ groundbreaking role in transforming molecular diagnostics.”
About Biocartis (www.biocartis.com)
Biocartis strives to transform the global diagnostics market by providing instant access to personalized medicine for patients worldwide. The company develops fully integrated and broadly applicable molecular diagnostic solutions that can be used in a wide variety of healthcare settings to provide rapid, high-quality care to patients. Biocartis is working with Janssen Pharmaceutica and Abbott Molecular to develop a range of diagnostic tests in different disease areas. Biocartis has set up in-house commercial scale manufacturing capabilities at its premises in Mechelen (near Brussels). The Idylla™ system and its first oncology assay, the IdyllaTM BRAF Mutation Test, have obtained CE-IVD marking.
Baker & McKenzie acted as legal and tax advisor to Biocartis in relation to the new fundraising.
