Listed biotech firm set to raise £6.5m

MANCHESTER biotech company Epistem Holdings is to push ahead with its bid to secure equity funding of £6.5m to broaden the portfolio of its Genedrive tests, developed to fight infectious diseases such as TB across the globe.

The listed company, as a result, has agreed to a request from selected shareholders and potential investors to extend the maturity date of an $8m bond.

The company has announced that it has recently received a non-binding investment committee approved commitment from Calculus Capital, a UK-based VCT and EIS investor, to subscribe for £2.5m out of the proposed £6.5m equity issue at an indicative issue price of between 70p and 80p per share.

Epistem and its brokers approached Calculus Capital, which has a strong track record in the healthcare sector, subsequent to the release of the company’s interim results.

This new cornerstone potential investment gives the company confidence that the equity raise will be successfully closed in the near future, it said.

A number of the company’s directors have also recently indicated their intention to participate in the proposed equity fundraising.

Dr Bhavini Shah, who heads TB testing services at Supratech Inc, India has confirmed that in a recently initiated device performance study being conducted with Epistem at Supratech, over 200 patient tests have now been performed using the Genedrive TB system and she is pleased with the device’s performance.

Dr Shah said: “The results are fully aligned to the Company’s DCGI performance claims. These results show that Genedrive offers an acceptable, low cost and accessible alternative for facilities without the sophisticated infrastructure and equipment which we have in our main laboratory.”

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