Vivacta (United Kingdom) - Dec 2007

unquote
01 December 2007

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AGF Private Equity and HBM BioVentures have co-led an investment of £6m into in vitro diagnostic company Vivacta Ltd in a series-B funding round. Existing investors SPARK Ventures and Viking, which both participated in the £3m series-A financing in March 2006, also contributed to the round. The new capital will be used to continue the development of the instrumentation and cartridges for the company’s new point-of-care immunoassay system.

Company

Vivacta is developing a novel diagnostics system based on its patented piezofilm sensor technology, which is capable of quickly delivering laboratory quality analysis of whole blood samples at the point of care. The company is based in the Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne and is in the process of upscaling its facilities to add a pilot manufacturing line for its disposable cartridge. The business, which currently employs 20 staff, was founded as PanOpSys Ltd in 2003 and was re-branded as Vivacta in 2006.

People

Gerry Möller, managing director of HGM BioCapital Management and former chief executive of the Boehringer Mannheim group, led the investment for HGM BioVentures and has been appointed to the Vivacta board. Joining him is well-known industry figure Gerard Vaillant, who has previously chaired the diagnostics division of Johnson & Johnson and served as CEO and president of Ortho Clinical and Lifescan. Remi Droller and Jonathan Gee represented AGF and SPARK respectively.

Advisers

Company - Taylor Wessing, David Mardle (Legal)Equity - Grant Thornton, Sylvain Quagliaroli (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - Travers Smith, David Patient, William Howard (Legal)

Sourced from: UK & Ireland unquote" 359 (Dec 2007)