Satt Sud-Est spinouts Click4Tag, C4Hydro and C4Biocontrol will merge to boost the commercialisation of microbe monitoring technologies built on research from six institutions.

Diamidex, a France-based microbe monitoring technology developer based on innovations from several research institutions, is set to emerge from the combination of three spinouts of regional tech transfer office Satt Sud-Est – Click4Tag, C4Hydro and C4Biocontrol. The merger is due to complete in the spring of 2019, however no specific date was provided. Diamidex’s underlying research stems from six France-based institutions – Centre national de la recherce scientifique (CNRS), University Aix-Marseille, Université Paris-Sud, Laboratory of Bacterial Chemistry, Orsay Institute of Molecular Chemistry and Institute of Chemistry of Natural Substances (ICNS). The company’s offering consists of products invented by its precursor businesses to quickly detect microbes with the potential to harbour infection in humans if transferred into consumed water, manufactured products and the environment. Click4Tag was founded in 2014 to commercialise microbe-detection technology for hot water systems, before C4Hydro spun out from the company in 2016 to focus on water testing products for environmental purposes. In 2018, C4Biocontrol was established to sell bacterial control technology for manufactured products. The merger is anticipated to help drive business growth and facilitate efforts to enhance each product in line with market expectations. Diamidex expects to grow its initial client-base of around 20 customers by more than two-fold over the coming months, building on existing contracts with firms including industrial conglomerate General Electric and water treatment system supplier Hatenboer-Water. Negotiations are currently underway with cosmetic product manufacturers looking to implement microbe control systems for water management purposes within their businesses. C4Hydro had previously closed a €400,000 ($453,000 at today’s exchange rate) round with investments from Rugby Business Angels and unnamed additional investors, though a date for the transaction could not be ascertained. Click4Tag had amassed more than $1.3m of capital by 2015, from backers including CNRS, ICSN and Satt Sud-Est, as well as from government funding agency Fondation for medical research and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur administrative region, though it was unclear whether this included any grant money.

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