SMi discloses £6 million seed funding round

According to the life sciences firm, its approach will allow testing centres to rapidly detect biomarkers and enable earlier patient diagnosis for a range of life-threatening diseases.

Alongside this, the technology will significantly accelerate the discovery of new therapeutics by biopharma companies and research institutions.

The company has also hired a new chief development officer experienced in product commercialization, Michael Risley, to accelerate SMi’s products’ routes to market.

The new platform is underpinned by SMi’s super-resolution optical technology that provides exceptionally high spatial (1.6 nanometre) and temporal (0.5 millisecond) resolution.

Coupled with AI, the platform delivers ‘unprecedented quantification’ of single molecules associated with diseases and those used to develop new therapeutics.

The seed funding included £3.64m from Norcliffe Capital and two Innovate UK grants of £1.89m and £0.42m, which enabled SMi to develop proof-of-principle instruments and prove their application to both infectious disease and cancer biomarker detection.

Andrew Thompson, CEO at SMi, said: “We’ve proved the success of our new platform in both respiratory diseases and cancer biomarker diagnosis, but we’re only just scratching the surface of what is possible using our single molecule imaging technology.”

“With the significant investment we’ve received and the appointment of Michael as CDO, we’re building a strong foundation for us to continue developing our products and accelerate their implementation for a vast range of applications, from disease diagnosis to drug and vaccine discovery. We will soon bring biotech and pharmaceutical scientists, clinicians, and patients the quick answers they need.”

Risley added: “It’s an exciting time to be joining SMi. Its technology will have a significant impact across the life science industry, giving deeper insights to the most complex questions troubling researchers and clinicians."

“My previous experience of commercializing IVD systems and ensuring they perform to customer expectations leaves me well-prepared for this new challenge — I’m excited to help SMi deliver the full potential of their platform and get it into labs and clinics worldwide.”