An investment arm of Koch Industries Inc. in Wichita has led an increased funding round to help boost a biomedical company with a new way of testing for Covid-19 and potentially other diseases.
Koch Disruptive Technologies has led a $15 million increase to a Series B funding round for Sense Biodetection, boosting the round to $65 million after KDT in April led an initial $50 million investment.
U.K.-based Sense is commercializing a molecular test for Covid-19.
The test, which is part of Sense’s Veros product platform, is an instrument-free process that can give rapid results and could be used at home since it eliminates the need for a testing station.
The Series B funds will support the launch of Veros in the U.S. and Europe — a platform that promises to provide lab-quality testing results in 15 minutes.
“Since our initial investment in Sense, we have witnessed the huge potential of the Veros platform and its promise to transform healthcare — and specifically its application for COVID-19 testing,” Brett Chugg, senior managing director of Koch Disruptive Technologies, says in a press release. “We are enthusiastic about Sense’s future and its potential to change the way medical providers and patients approach healthcare, and we look forward to supporting the company as it seeks EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) and launches its first test.”
The funding continues more than $30 billion in technology-related investments by Koch companies in recent years, including those coming from the Chase Koch-led KDT division since its founding in 2017.
