NZ-based diagnostic startup Pictor raises $5 M for product development

New Zealand (NZ)-based startup Pictor, with operations in US and India, has announced a funding round to help accelerate pipeline product development projects along with market development activities within Australia/New Zealand, the US and Europe for its Human Health and Animal Health portfolios.

This follows the recent successful launch of the PictArray SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Test through Rako Science in New Zealand and key partners in the US.

Pictor’s multiplex technology enables two key different approaches – testing for multiple diseases or testing for different stages/multiple markers of a disease, all within a single enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test well. This can provide both greater sensitivity (accuracy), higher throughput and cost efficiencies.

Within the Human Health space, Pictor’s current focus is expanding access to its highly accurate tests for COVID-19 antibodies and accelerating the development of its test for tropical fevers. Pictor has also leveraged its multiplex platform to develop an Animal Health business and is poised to launch two tests in Q2, 2023. The PictArray Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) and PictArray Johne’s Disease tests, developed with support from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, will enable more accurate and effective dairy and beef herd management both in New Zealand and internationally.