Molendotech was spun out from Plymouth half a year ago and has now secured a three-tranche commitment of $700,000 from investors.

 Molendotech, a UK-based water testing technology spinout from University of Plymouth, secured a three-tranche commitment of £500,000 ($700,000) yesterday in an initial funding round backed by undisclosed investors. The spinout is developing a point-of-use test to determine how much faecal bacteria is present in water. The test is expected to take 15 minutes, compared with the hours or days it takes to yield results from conventional alternatives.   Molendotech’s assay, which has a US patent for use in recreational waters, relies on a biomarker for faecal bacteria called Lipopolysaccharide. The capital will enable Molendotech to target early sales revenue, expand its product range and enter new markets. It has agreed to develop testing products in partnership with Palintest, a wholly-owned water evaluation kit unit of health and safety group Halma. Molendotech was spun out in July 2017 under Plymouth’s commercialisation agreement with commercialisation firm Frontier IP,  whose equity will drop from 20% to 14% once Molendotech receives all the round’s proceeds. Molendotech was formed to advance research by Simon Jackson, a professor of environment and human health at Plymouth’s Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. Jackson, who is now chairman of the company, said: “Securing significant investment at this early stage is a great achievement and confirmation of the commercial potential of Molendotech products. “This funding will enable us to realise our business plans and develop a portfolio of water testing assays for different markets.”

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