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Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has advised Molendotech, a University of Plymouth spinout company, on securing an investment to speed the development of its novel bacteria-testing technology.
Molendotech, based at the University’s Brixham Laboratory, has raised £425,000 from new and existing investors through an equity funding round. The investment will be used to accelerate and expand the applications of its novel bacteria-testing technology, which has recently attracted strong interest internationally from potential customers concerned about secondary infections as they tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
WBD, which has a large base in the South West with offices in Bristol and Plymouth, was led by the corporate finance team with partner Tom Fitzpatrick and managing associate Alex Fergus advising on the transaction.
Tom Fitzpatrick commented:
"It has been a pleasure working with The University of Plymouth and Molendotech on this equity funding round. In the current climate, the research and technologies developed by Molendotech play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19 and the investment will support the development of its technologies and ramp up tests for harmful infections."
Professor Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Molendotech, said:
“The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted possible risks to human health from the environment and governments now want to test for bacterial contamination in water and other materials. However, our technology also allows fast detection of bacterial pathogens in fresh food produce, so our technology could significantly decrease the holding time of fresh food before it is released to supermarkets. This will increase the supply of fresh produce to supermarkets, which is especially critical at times of crisis, and support customer faith in the safety of the products.”
Ranking in the UK's top 20 law firms, WBD provides legal expertise in eleven key sectors from across eight offices in the UK and 19 offices in the US. The firm has a large corporate practice in the UK, particularly in the South West, advising national and international clients on a broad range of corporate transactions including M&A, IPOs, private equity investments as well as growth and development capital fundraisings.
