BATM Advanced Communications Ltd (LSE:BVC, OTC:BTAVF) announced that it is contributing US$4mln to a US$10mln follow-on investment in Ador Diagnostics Ltd, which will increase its stake in the associate company to 37.21% from 36.7%.
Ador's NATlab molecular diagnostics platform allows rapid testing to diagnose bacterial, viral or fungal infections using DNA or RNA sampling.
BATM said it believes diagnostic molecular biology, which is the fastest growing area of laboratory medicine, could have a major impact on the way infectious disease diagnosis and fast treatment are initiated.
In the past 12 months, Ador has successfully completed a clinical trial of a meningitis diagnostics panel and developed the RCA (isothermal) protocol, which has been finalised and tested resulting in biology R&D risk being reduced to a minimum.
Ador has also continued to submit patents in the US.
Alongside BATM subisidiary Adaltis, Ador has entered into a partnership with the Stop TB Partnership, Heidelberg University and the 'Find' programme. Products under the 'Find' programme are going through the testing phase and BATM said it expects substantial-scale commercial testing next year.
The additional US$10mln investment will be used to prepare Ador for the pre-production stage, register additional patents, progress development of more disease panels and increase co-operation with international bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Zvi Marom, CEO of BATM, said: "We are pleased at the progress Ador is making. I am confident that we are paving a new path to diagnose infectious diseases. This investment will enable us to prepare Ador for the pre-production stage and move it towards becoming a commercial clinical solution.
"The pandemic has demonstrated that viral, microbial or pathogenic diseases continue to be a very real threat to all aspects of our life.
"There is a great need to gain a better understanding of how structural variations in DNA and RNA are associated with the development of infectious diseases, whether acute or chronic, and to develop fast diagnostics that can be operational at both the point of care and in labs that enable appropriate and immediate treatment. We look forward to the next phase of development in Ador."
BATM shares climbed 3.12% to 61.15p in early trade.