Avacta raises £1.95m to commercialise products

The York-based company raised the money through a conditional placing of new ordinary shares of 0.1p each.

Chief executive Alastair Smith said: "We're delighted to have experienced recent strong interest in Avacta from existing and new investors and to have the opportunity presented to us to raise these additional funds.

"I am very pleased with Avacta's recent progress as it transitions from a period of focused product development to one of commercialisation of its new products.

"We have a highly motivated and hard working team that will continue to drive the business forwards during what promises to be an exciting period in the company's growth."

Avacta said its sales pipeline in the United States for its diagnostics machine, Optim, looks promising after selling the product to an unnamed US pharmaceutical giant.

Optim allows drug developers to gain vital information about compounds using tiny samples, more cheaply and quickly than other methods.

It is also marketing AX-1, a system that can detect a range of diseases from blood tests taken in a GP surgery or vet clinic.

In a statement, the company said: "The funds raised will be used to support commercialisation of these new analytical and diagnostics products through improvements in infrastructure and manufacturing processes and through the enhancement of the company's commercial teams."