Hikma Ventures invests in Biolinq, the next generation minimally-invasive biosensor technology company
London, 27 November 2017 - Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (Hikma) (LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK) (OTC: HKMPY), (rated Ba1 Moody's / BB+ S&P, both stable) announces that its venture capital arm, Hikma Ventures Limited (Hikma Ventures) invested in Biolinq, the next generation minimally-invasive biosensor technology company, in collaboration with M Ventures which led the $10 million series A round of financing. Lana Ghanem, Managing Director of Hikma Ventures and Edward Kliphuis, Investment Director of the New Businesses fund at M Ventures will be joining the Biolinq Board of Directors.
Biolinq is a digital health company with a unique, wirelessly-enabled biosensor patch that is capable of continuously monitoring multiple biomarkers. Biolinq's first commercial product, a unique minimally-invasive technology will allow patients with diabetes to continuously monitor their blood glucose without the pain and hassle of traditional continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems.
Lana Ghanem, Managing Director of Hikma Ventures, said, "Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting millions of people worldwide with a high prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa. We enjoyed working alongside the M Ventures team on closing this investment and we look forward to working with the Biolinq team and our other co-investors to bring this technology to patients."
"We are leading this round of investment with an excellent group of co-investors, all with the same goal of making the convenient and painless monitoring of multiple biomarkers a reality for patients in need," said Edward Kliphuis, investment director of the New Businesses fund at M Ventures. "As investors, we fully recognize the value of Biolinq's skin-applied, minimally-invasive electrochemical biosensor platform technology."
Jared Tangney, CEO of Biolinq, said, "This funding round will fuel the growth of our technology platform. Our first product is not just another CGM technology, but a platform we built from the ground up with a focus on the end user. Our vision is to utilize our novel manufacturing approach to achieve low-cost and high uniformity, enabling factory calibration (no finger sticks) in a nickel-sized patch. With our low cost-of-goods and ease-of-use, we plan to increase access to CGM and simplify diabetes management."
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Enquiries
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC |
|
Lana Ghanem, Managing Director, Hikma Ventures |
+962(0)6 5802900/ +962 79 8579391 |
Susan Ringdal, VP Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations |
+44 (0)20 7399 2760/ +44 7776 477050 |
FTI Consulting |
|
Ben Atwell/ Brett Pollard |
+44 (0)20 3727 1000 |
About Hikma
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC is a multinational pharmaceutical group focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of both branded and non-branded generic and in-licensed products. Hikma's operations are conducted through three businesses: 'Injectables,' 'Generics' and 'Branded,' based primarily in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where it is a market leader, the United States and Europe. In 2016, Hikma achieved revenues of $1,950 million and profit attributable to shareholders of $155 million.
About Hikma Ventures
Founded in August 2015, Hikma Ventures operates as the corporate venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Hikma Ventures invests in global start-ups where Hikma's expertise can accelerate revenue growth and enhance value creation by providing ventures with access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company. For more information, visit www.hikmaventures.com
About M Ventures
Merck Ventures BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as M Ventures in the United States and Canada is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany's core business areas. We invest globally in transformational ideas driven by great entrepreneurs. M Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation towards commercial success For more information, visit www.m-ventures.com
About Biolinq
Biolinq is a digital health company developing a skin-applied, minimally-invasive electrochemical biosensor platform which analyses biomarkers in the interstitial fluid to provide actionable health information. Given the platform potential of the technology and the unique ability to simultaneously measure multiple biomarkers, the company aims to develop a pipeline of biomonitoring products. Biolinq was founded in 2012 (as Electrozyme, LLC), and is located in San Diego. For more information, visit www.biolinq.me
