Epistem completes name change

MANCHESTER biotech company Epistem Holdings has changed its name to Genedrive plc  to better reflect the focus of its activities.

Its Genedrive device and tests are designed to bring the power of laboratory molecular diagnostics to point of care and point of need settings.

The Company’s tuberculosis/rifampicin resistance (MTB/RIF) test has been launched in India and a Genedrive HCV test has been successfully assessed by the Institut Pasteur, Paris.

Last month it raised £6.5m through a share placing, to broaden the portfolio of its Genedrive tests, developed to fight infectious diseases such as TB across the globe.

The Company’s technology platform is also being applied to diverse targets such as biohazard identification in a $7.8m programme with the US Department of Defense, aquaculture viral identification with the UK Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture  Science, and has also recently been validated in human genotyping applications.

David Budd, chief executive officer of Genedrive, said: “While the Epistem name was reflective of the heritage of the company, the change to Genedrive clearly reflects our intention to focus our resources on the global market opportunities in near patient and point of care molecular diagnostics.

“We have an opportunity to play a significant role in delivering sophisticated diagnostic testing that today millions of people cannot access. We are excited by the future of Genedrive in bringing the power of hospital-based, central laboratory diagnostics closer to the point of need and the patient setting.

“Our renewed focus and the recent successful fundraising put us in a strong position to deliver on our diagnostics platform’s potential and expand its testing capabilities.”