Sense Biodetection raises $50m Series B funding

Oxbridge BioMedTech business Sense Biodetection has raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies – a subsidiary of £115 billion turnover US giant Koch Industries, Inc, based in Wichita, Kansas.

The Series B also included participation from Sense’s existing investors Cambridge Innovation Capital, Earlybird Health, Cambridge entrepreneur Jonathan Milner and Mercia Asset Management.  

The cash will advance commercialisation of the company’s Veros™ COVID-19 product and continue development of a portfolio of instrument-free, rapid molecular tests that enable improved access, outcomes, and value through patient-focused decentralised healthcare.

Sense Biodetection has operations in Cambridge and Oxford UK and Boston in the US. The Veros™ platform introduces novel and proprietary rapid molecular amplification technology to detect a variety of deadly and costly diseases.  

Sense CEO Harry Lamble said: “This Series B round is crucial in providing us with the resources to grow our Veros platform to revolutionise decentralised point-of-care testing; and it is particularly important as we commercialise our Veros COVID-19 test, which delivers laboratory quality results directly to users within minutes, without an instrument. 

“This will be an essential tool in the effective management of outbreaks of this and other diseases. Partnering with KDT provides us the support we need to deliver on our ambitious plans to quickly scale manufacturing and commercialise the Veros platform and launch a whole pipeline of testing products, beginning with the Veros COVID-19 test.”

Sense’s Veros product platform ushers in a pioneering new class of molecular diagnostic test that brings the performance of central laboratory PCR testing into a rapid, easy-to-use, disposable format. 

Unconstrained by an instrument or reader, Veros products can be utilised beyond traditional healthcare settings, enabling better access, outcomes, and value for patients and providers.

Chase Koch, President of Koch Disruptive Technologies, said: “KDT sees huge potential for Sense’s Veros platform to transform the way medical providers and patients approach healthcare, empowering more choice, increased access, and better quality of care. 

“Sense’s vision to decentralise the healthcare system, through its flexible point-of-care testing capabilities for a variety of diseases, presents a foundational shift in an industry ripe for disruption. 

“Sense’s talented team and its innovative Veros platform are changing the way we manage healthcare and infectious diseases, and we expect even greater applications of their technology as they continue to grow.”