Over the past few years, investments in the healthcare diagnostic industry have been building momentum due to the growing awareness about the health benefits of early diagnosis and preventive care. According to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA), home tests can be cost-effective, quick, and confidential.
As at-home diagnostic testing gains more acceptance, many medical device manufacturers are embracing the opportunities to develop a wide range of low-cost tools, and tests along a continuum of wellness and prevention. This ranges from chronic-disease management to identifying future risks of illness.
Antelope Dx secures €9M funding
Ghent-based Antelope Dx is one such company that develops a palm-sized home test diagnostic device that allows individuals and primary healthcare professionals to access key health parameters immediately.
Recently, Antelope Dx secured €9M funding in a Series B round. The round was subscribed in a 50/50 ratio by an investment consortium led by Whitefund, and the Existing A-round investors..
A few weeks back, Antelope Dx also received a €2.2M grant from the Flanders Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to expand the use of its at-home diagnostic testing platform. The new round brings the company’s total funding amount, raised till date, to €14.1M.
According to Hilde Windels, CEO of Antelope Dx, Michel Baijot, chairman of Whitefund will join Antelope Dx’s board, together with Hugues Wallemacq – a Noshaq investment manager with a broad experience in the medical field.
What Antelope brings to the test
The Belgian company will utilise the funding to initiate clinical development of the urine-based self-test for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG).
Furthermore, the company is developing respiratory Influenza A/B and Sars-CoV-2 tests using a single swab sample, that would allow patients to test in their home. It’s also working on quantitative measurement of protein biomarkers in finger-prick blood samples.
According to the company, the fact that it offers the rare trifecta of “clinical lab performance with the ease-of-use of a pregnancy test at a consumer price tag” is its differentiating factor. The platform is based on lab-on-chip technology and aims to perform tests on any bodily fluid, without requiring complex user operations or sample preparation.
Michel Baijot, Chairman of Whitefund, comments: “We were very pleased to lead this financing round involving other solid private partners and to count Antelope Dx as Whitefund’s first investment. Antelope Dx’s innovative technology platform allows us to address the real need for home diagnostic testing as pointed and urgently requested by the current Covid-19 pandemic.”
Main image credits: Antelope Dx