
YFM backs $3m investment in Sirigen
YFM Equity Partners has led a $3m investment in UK biomedical firm Sirigen.
The capital was provided through the Seraphim Capital Fund and British Smaller Companies VCT 2, alongside a syndicate of other investors including Oxford Capital Partners, IQ Capital and NESTA.
Funding will be used to support the commercialisation of Sirigen’s High Sensitivity Fluorescence (HSF) amplification technology. The company also has plans to launch further products.
Company
Sirigen was formed in 2003 and has offices in Ringwood, Hampshire, and in San Diego, US.
Sirigen’s light harvesting technology acts as an amplifier, improving the sensitivity of clinical tests used in drug discovery and the diagnosis of health disorders such as blood cancers. It enables tests that would previously have been "not sensitive enough" and the potential for speedier testing with less sensitive equipment.
The technology can be used in a cross-section of the biomedical industry including the $6bn drug discovery industry, which can use Sirigen to test the efficacy of new drugs, the $12bn life sciences industry which can use it to develop new detection platforms, and the $35bn diagnostics industry.
People
The transaction was led by Mark Boggett for YFM Equity Partners. Colin Watts represented Oxford Capital Partners, Ivan Griffin invested on behalf of NESTA, Kerry Bladwin handled the deal for IQ Capital, and David Gee for the British Smaller Companies VCT.
Advisers
Equity – Mills & Reeve, Dona Ardeman (Legal).
Company – Osborne Clarke, Janita Good (Legal).
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