Healthcare solutions provider Molbio Diagnostics on Monday said Singapore-based investment firm Temasek has invested USD 85 million (over Rs 690 crore) in the company. Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics is known for its 'Truenat' technology -- a portable, battery-operated real-time PCR platform that can be used for testing infectious diseases, including TB, COVID-19, Hepatitis-C virus, human papillomavirus, influenza and vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.
The fresh funds from Temasek along with those from existing investors such as Motilal Oswal Alternates, will help the company accelerate development and commercialisation of new technologies based on clinical need gaps, Molbio Diagnostics said in a statement.
This will also help the company in fast-tracking its efforts to take the Truenat platform to global markets, it added.
"The demand for high-quality, point-of-care molecular diagnostic systems is higher than ever today. The strategic partnership with Temasek will strengthen our ability to provide sustainable choices to address global healthcare challenges," Molbio Diagnostics Director and CEO, Sriram Natarajan said.
Molbio Diagnostics said its Truenat real-time PCR has been deployed in over 5,000 testing centers across over 40 countries around the world.
In India, the government has deployed these devices at primary and community health centers across all states and Union Territories under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program, it added.
"Over the past three years, Molbio has changed the diagnostic paradigm across India and has had a real impact in saving millions of lives," Motilal Oswal Alternates Director Rohit Mantri said.
Motilal Oswal Alternates had associated with Molbio just few months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, "when the requirement of capital was extremely critical, and something that led to Molbio playing a very important role in ramping up of the testing infrastructure in India," he added.
Molbio Diagnostics said its Truenat portable technology platform enables early and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases and initiation of correct treatment right at the first point of contact and can be deployed at all levels of the healthcare chain, including very remote and inaccessible areas.