Cytomos has secured £1.6m in funding to progress the development and qualification of its novel cell analysis platform, Cytomos Dielectric Spectroscopy (CDS).
The seed round was led by existing investor Archangels, with participation from Scottish Enterprise and Old College Capital.
The Edinburgh-based life science company has developed a proprietary new approach to analysing cells, aiming to address the unmet needs of the biopharma industry, providing a low-cost, portable and scalable alternative.
CDS has the potential to help companies react in real time, enabling prioritisation and “fail fast” to minimise sunk costs, both in terms of time and operating expense, as well as qualitative aspects. It aims to enable non-specialist users to perform quantitative and qualitative cytometry, without requirement for typical cell labelling reagents.
Dr Alan Raymond, executive chair at Cytomos, said: “We now have the growth capital required to advance the development of our novel process analytical technology platform to the next phase of prototype evaluation with our strategic partners.
“This is an important milestone in the journey to deliver our mission to enable the development and manufacture of life saving biologic therapies.”
Cytomos has made progress over the last year in developing its technology platform and has successfully tested its protype devices in the field, secured the key patent for CDS in the US and appointed a board and scientific advisory board.
The funding will allow the company to grow its team, deliver its next generation sensor and analytics for real time monitoring and analysis of cells and expand its customer engagement.
Founded in 1992, Archangels is the world’s oldest continuously operating business angel syndicate investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies. The syndicate was an early investor in Cytomos and has supported the team through early-stage development of the business.
Sarah Hardy, director and head of new investments at Archangels, said: “The demand for single-cell and label-free analysis tools is soaring and the CDS platform developed by Cytomos is uniquely placed to provide a low cost, real-time format that is highly scalable. and easy to operate with a small footprint.
“We are excited by its potential to be truly disruptive and look forward to supporting the team as the businesses further develops its commercial viability.”
Kerry Sharp, director of growth investments at Scottish Enterprise, added: “Encouraging and supporting businesses in this sector, such as Cytomos, to innovate and grow is a priority for Scottish Enterprise.
“The technology platform developed by Cytomos enhances cell analysis and this investment will allow the company to progress this technology further, delivering potential growth opportunities and medical advances in the process.”
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