BUSINESS NEWS
Denise Sidhu, Partner, Kernel Capital, Leo Clancy, Chief Executive, Enterprise Ireland, Dr Tara Dalton, CEO, Altratech and Cyril Maguire, Managing Director, Infinity Capital
€5m investment for Altratech in Cork
“With our new brand positioning, ‘Imagine a better way’, we intend to become the most significant provider of innovative net-zero transition products and services in Ireland.”
Cutting-edge health research company Altratech has completed a €5m investment round led by The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund and Infinity Capital – each investing €1.5m – with Enterprise Ireland investing €500,000 and Claret Capital providing a €1.5m venture debt facility. “Our team of 20 scientists and engineers have been developing our next generation molecular detection since 2016 and have built an expansive patent portfolio,” said Tara Dalton, CEO, Altratech. “Key patents were granted during 2020 in the US and EU. A further seven patents are pending in China, Japan, Europe and the US, including a patent jointly filed with the National Institutes of Health in the US.”
CYBER THREAT
COVER STORY PAGE 18
Dave Kirwan, Managing Director, Bord Gáis Energy
Irish SME owners believe their business would only survive on average 4.8 days without any access to their systems after a successful cyber attack, a Typetec survey reveals.
Irish breast cancer test goes global
Prof William Gallagher, Co-founder, OncoMark and CSO, OncoAssure
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American molecular diagnostics company Cepheid has formally announced its acquisition of OncoMark, a UCD spin-out company, for an undisclosed sum. Co-founded by Prof William Gallagher and Steve Penney, OncoMark has developed a novel test for earlystage breast cancer that has the potential to reduce the number of breast cancer patients receiving unnecessary chemotherapy. The test was CE-marked in preparation for launch in EU markets. With the acquisition of OncoMark by Cepheid, the test will now be launched on Cepheid’s world-leading GeneXpert Platform in global markets. Subsequent to the sale of OncoMark, a new company, OncoAssure, was established with all former OncoMark staff moving across to continue the development of biomarkers in other cancers.
InBUSINESS | WINTER 2021
22/12/2021 21/12/2021 10:50 11:49
