Veterinary diagnostic spin out achieves ‘milestone’ funding

A Scottish-based veterinary diagnostics company has raised over £3m in series A funding. 

The investment will be used continue MI:RNA global growth plans.  

Its global growth plans include growing partnership with leading companies in animal health and pursuing their ambition to become a leading global tech company that delivers impact for people, animals and the planet.    

The company aims to revolutionise the future of animal health testing and treatments by improving earlier disease diagnosis in the pet, agriculture and equine sectors.  

The “cutting-edge” technology uses a combination of biomarker technology and artificial intelligence.   

The funds have been raised from eight investors across three continents. Existing investors Gabriel, Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise are being joined by new investors including NovaQuest, Kyoritsu Holdings and VANE.    

Series A is the first stage of fund-raising rounds which allow investors to invest money into a company before the initial public offering (IPO) stage.   

The company was founded in 2019 by Dr Eve Hanks, a veterinary surgeon with a certificate in medicine and Ph.D. in immunology.    

Hanks said: “Series A is an important milestone in our global growth plans… The geographical spread of this investment round reflects the global opportunity for MI:RNA to deploy our platform for better outcomes for pets.” 

Brian Axe, managing director at NovaQuest Capital Management, said, “NovaQuest is extremely excited to lead the Series A with an exceptional syndicate of investors. Not only identifying disease, but understanding stage of disease and progression through cellular mechanisms is the amazing potential miRNAs hold. We believe this technology has tremendous potential.” 

Peter Glassman, executive committee member & co-founder at Veterinary Angel Network (VANE), said: “We invest in businesses that help pet owners, animals or veterinary teams and MI:RNA is an exciting investment opportunity at the cutting edge of science and technology. Our members were impressed by the MI:RNA team and by the market application opportunity for vet practices globally to detect stage diseases earlier.”