Bioaxial secures €1.9m funding to develop fluorescence microscopy instruments

4 December 2013

Paris-based Bioaxial has completed a €1.9 million (US$2.7m) equity investment by three new large investors. This capital will back the commercial launch of Bioaxial’s first product, an optical microscopy module.

The capital, which comes from specialized funds for seed investment in young startups, is provided by Amorcage Technologique Investissement (a fund managed by CEA Investissement), Inserm Transfert Initiative and Viveris Management, plus a range of individual investors. The microscopy module is expected in the second half of 2014.

Bioaxial is developing imaging instruments for fluorescence microscopy that allow extended imaging of live cells with an improved resolution so far unreachable in research laboratories. This innovative module not only allows observation of living cells in super-resolution over time without damaging them, but unlike its competitors, does not require complex manipulations.

It has been tested at the Institut Pasteur for the last 12 months. The founders of Bioaxial are experts in the industrialization of innovation and have an international track record in the semiconductor and optics industries.

“The investment of funds in Bioaxial’s capital is a vote of confidence in the team and its technology. It is a strong signal for the targeted market segment. It brings us credibility and allows us to launch commercially,” said Louis Philippe Braitbart, CEO and co-founder of Bioaxial.

“Our technology revolutionizes optical microscopy in the life sciences market,” said Gabriel Sirat, CTO, co-founder and inventor of the technology. “We expect applications in many areas where improved resolution is essential to better understand the processes of live entities.”

“We enthusiastically support Bioaxial in the commercial launch of its first product. Their technological breakthrough delivers strong differentiation to its first range of instruments,” said Celia Hart, investment director at CEA Investissement. “The key gains are in terms of resolution, the ability to image live cells, ease of use and in cost. The management team also has extensive experience in the development of instruments all the way to the market.”

“This is our second investment in medical device instrumentation,” said Matthieu Coutet, managing director at Inserm Transfert Initiative. “We were very impressed by this ambitious project, which brings together an experienced team, a disruptive technology and clearly identified business opportunities.”