EMV Capital (AIM:EMVC) told investors that its portfolio company Glycotest has signed a licence agreement with the Zucker Institute for Innovation Commercialization, an arm of the Medical University of South Carolina, for intellectual property tied to Glycotest's blood test for staging liver fibrosis.
The London-listed deep tech and life sciences venture capital group backs early-stage, IP-rich companies, and Glycotest is one of its diagnostics-focused portfolio holdings.
Glycotest completed a first close of roughly $3.22m in funding in June, comprising cash and loan conversions including part of EMV's own convertible loan, a raise that pushed EMV's ownership in the company below 50% and triggered its deconsolidation as a Group subsidiary.
Under the new licence, Glycotest gains exclusive worldwide rights to the intellectual property, while the Zucker Institute will receive royalties on future product sales plus other financial consideration.
The licensed IP, developed by Professor Anand Mehta, who holds the SmartState Chair in Proteomic Biomarkers at the Medical University of South Carolina, will support expansion of Glycotest's proprietary LRAGG biomarker into a multi-biomarker panel aimed at improving clinical performance and extending patent protection.
The company is targeting the growing population with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and steatohepatitis, conditions that affect an estimated 100m US adults and more than a billion people worldwide, with the broader fibrosis assessment market projected to reach as high as $3bn by 2033, according to Grand View Research and Coherent Market Insights.
"By expanding our proprietary LRAGG biomarker into a multi-biomarker panel, we believe we can deliver even greater clinical performance while extending the intellectual property protection around our technology," said Charles Swindell, chief executive of Glycotest.
Dr Ilian Iliev, chief executive of EMV Capital, called the deal "a good example of the Glycotest team methodically building value," describing the move as extending a diagnostics platform through "IP-led, capital-efficient growth" central to the firm's investment approach.