Magnomics

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City: Cantanhede

State: Coimbra

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Country: Portugal

Overview: Magnomics is a diagnostics, medical technology company committed to delivering a new generation of rapid, portable molecular diagnostic tests with applications in the human health, veterinary, and food industry markets. Affordable, disposable diagnostic cartridges will be produced in large scale and shipped via global distributors. The team behind the company has world class experience in biotechnology, electronics and physics, with a proven track record in managing start-ups. Magnomics has a Letter of Intent from a leading dairy company and won the 2015 Kansas City Animal Health Investment Forum innovation award, as well as the Ag Biotech Entrepreneurial Showcase award in North Carolina in 2016. €1.6M in seed financing have been raised through grants and investments. Magnomics is seeking €1.5M to conclude the prototyping of its first product in the animal health space. Technology: Magnomics technology stands on four patent families, with more in the pipeline, and has been published over twenty times in prestigious scientific journals. Magnomics provides a portable and affordable PCR device that requires no training to operate. The product integrates sample preparation, amplification and DNA detection within a single cartridge using microfluidics, making use of a novel magnetoresistive DNA sensing technology. Market: The veterinary diagnostics market is hungry for innovation and has low regulatory barriers. This market is estimated at €4 billion, with an 8.6% expected growth for the period 2016 to 2021. Magnomics will focus on the detection of bovine mastitis - an inflammation of the dairy cow’s mammary gland, whose treatment depends on the bacteria involved. This ailment causes over €30 billion in annual losses for producers worldwide. In the initial target markets (North America, Europe and Brazil), there are 56 million dairy cows with an average mastitis base incidence 30%. Given a €25 price tag and some segmentation, this amounts to a serviceable market of close to €300M, in which a penetration of 10-15% is expectable. The product can be sold either directly to farmers or to veterinarians: strategic partnerships are being negotiated with large pharma/dairy players to ensure market access. Competition: Companies such as AAD, DeLaval, and PortaCheck already have on-site solutions, which include California Mastitis Tests (CMT), Somatic Cell Counters and variants (SCC), as well as lateral flow strips. These current on-site diagnostics tools indicate the presence of an infection but are unable to determine the pathogen, which is key to define an appropriate treatment. Culture testing (e.g. Idexx, Virbac) is the current benchmark and is being tried on site as well: although cheap, the added value is greatly diminished due to long waiting times and difficulties in setting up a working protocol. Finally, laboratories provide fast molecular solutions (e.g. ThermoFisher) that are fast but expensive, while requiring complicated logistics due to sample collection that increase lead times. Magnomics will bring these molecular solutions to the farm in a convenient and affordable product.

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