(Alliance News) - Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC shares surged after it received GBP70 million worth of backing from in vitro diagnostics partner bioMerieux SA.

Oxford Nanopore also backed its 2026 breakeven target, announced a partnership with Mayo Clinic and unveiled a push into the clinical and applied markets.

Shares in the company jumped 20% to 225.90 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

bioMerieux invested GBP70 million in Oxford Nanopore, and it may lift its stake further from time to time, up to a further 3.5%.

"The investment strengthens the relationship between the two companies, further aligning with Oxford Nanopore's increasing focus on clinical markets through a partnership announced in April this year. This investment will support development for products in Oxford Nanopore's portfolio to serve IVD markets in conjunction with bioMerieux's commitment to advancing global public health," Oxford Nanopore said.

"Through this partnership and this investment, the two companies intend to leverage Oxford Nanopore's ground-breaking nanopore-based IVD solution and bioMerieux's IVD expertise in R&D, regulatory, medical and market access. As part of the transaction, the two companies will establish an IVD advisory board to advance nanopore technology into routine clinical use."

In addition, the company announced a deal with medical centre Mayo Clinic to "develop new clinical tests for diseases and improve patient care".

"Mayo Clinic and Oxford Nanopore have identified several areas of development, spanning a wide breadth of applications from translational research in human genetics to detection of genetic predisposition to cancer," Oxford Nanopore said.

"Nanopore sequencing is well positioned to serve Mayo Clinic's goals of improving testing in some of the hardest-to-characterise conditions. The ability to sequence any-length fragments of DNA - from short to long and ultra-long - and examine methylation in real time offers the potential to provide clinicians with a more complete picture of an evolving cancer genome quickly and accurately."

Oxford Nanopore Chief Executive Officer Gordon Sanghera talked up the firm's "important transition" into the "clinical and applied markets", where there is a total addressable market of over USD150 billion.

Oxford Nanopore, which is eyeing adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation breakeven by the end of 2026, will update on its strategy at a capital markets day on Thursday.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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