Abingdon Health acquires university spin-off in £2.1m deal
MEDTECH Abingdon Health, which has operations in Yorkshire, has completed the acquisition of University of Birmingham spin-off Serascience in a deal worth £2.1m.
Abingdon, a specialist rapid diagnostic technology company, said the deal had been facilitated through a successful fundraising from current shareholders and the deal represented an important step forward in its strategy to create a leading innovative global diagnostic company.
Serascience was formed in April 2011 through Abingdon Health’s and the University of Birmingham’s joint venture, Bioscience Ventures Limited (BSVL), which develops early stage diagnostics opportunities to the point at which they can be licensed, acquired, or sold as a service.
Serascience licensed a portfolio of monoclonal antibodies from the University of Birmingham that include those specific for aiding the diagnosis of myeloma and related conditions. Its first product to market will be Seralite®, a near patient diagnostic device for multiple myeloma.
The acquisition comes as Serascience is undergoing beta-trials for Seralite® a rapid test for the diagnosis and monitoring of myeloma, and MGUS progression. This market is estimated to be worth over £200m per annum.
Since Abingdon Health’s formation in 2008 the company, which has an operation in York, has completed a series of selective acquisition and licensing transactions to bring together intellectual property, diagnostic platforms, manufacturing and created a sales and marketing structure.
The investment gained support from, inter alia, Imperial Innovations, the University of Birmingham and Abingdon co-founder and CEO Dr Chris Hand.
He said: “The company has made strong progress in its strategy to create a fully integrated, specialist diagnostics business. The acquisition of Serascience is the latest success in this strategy. Early detection is critical for improved treatment outcomes, there is an increasing demand for fast, accurate diagnostic tests and we are in a strong position to take advantage of the multiple opportunities within the US$11.2bn global immunodiagnostics market.
“We are delighted to continue to receive support from our shareholders and we are pleased that the University of Birmingham is now a shareholder of Abingdon Health, further strengthening our partnership. The additional investment will be used to continue to expand our development programmes and scale up of manufacture. I should like to thank our shareholders for their continuing support.”
Dr James Wilkie, CEO of the University of Birmingham’s technology transfer company, Alta Innovations, and newly appointed director to the board of Abingdon Health, said the acquisition of Serascience was a mark of how far the technology had advanced commercially under Bioscience Ventures’ management.
“It’s a great example of one of the many contributions the University of Birmingham is making to accelerate the adoption of early stage medical devices, diagnostics and therapeutics. We’re delighted to be supporting Abingdon Health on its ongoing journey to tackle the important field of rapid diagnostics, to improve patient care,” he said.
Abingdon works with the world’s best scientists to acquire, develop and distribute state-of-the art diagnostic tools and services. Their mission is to create a global, diversified healthcare business through both selective acquisition and the development of patent protected, clinically relevant diagnostic products.
Serascience and Linear Diagnostics were the first two companies formed through BSVL.
