NetScientific PLC (AIM:NSCI), an investment and commercialisation group specialising in life science, sustainability, and industrial technology companies, has successfully concluded a new investment round, raising £3.2mln for its portfolio company Vortex Biotech Holdings Limited.
This funding round was led by EMV Capital.
Vortex Biotech is actively working to strengthen its position within the lucrative, multibillion-dollar oncology liquid biopsy market.
The group’s primary focus lies in developing advanced technology for the capture and isolation of intact, label-free and pure Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) from blood samples.
Vortex Biotech aims to enhance therapeutic decision-making, save lives and drive significant advancements in cancer treatment and monitoring by allowing researchers and clinicians to gain crucial insights from whole cancer cells.
As well as participating in the latest investment round, NetScientific also converted its £400,000 loan into equity.
Consequently, NetScientific now holds a 24.98% equity stake in Vortex, with a post-investment fair value of £2.8mln - a 300% increase from the £700,000 reported at the end of 2022.
"This transaction clearly showcases our unique ability to combine a capital-light investment approach with value creation support for promising businesses," said Dr Ilian Iliev, chief executive of NetScientific.
Paul Jones, chief executive of Vortex Biotech, added: "We are thrilled to welcome this new investment, enabled by EMV Capital's fundraising support.
“It helps us accelerate our plans for a breakthrough in how CTCs can be used to inform oncology treatment and monitoring."
Jones explained that precision diagnostics in combination with innovations around targeted therapies are enabling remarkable progress in personalised medicine.
“We're determined that Vortex will play a major role in this space - in the short term at the interface to biopharma and in the long term, in partnership with clinical health systems worldwide,” he said.