Curiox Biosystems Achieves Commercialisation and Fund Raising Success in North Asia with the Support of Cornerstone Investor, ZIG Ventures

ZIG Ventures Ltd, a Singapore-based medtech investment and commercialisation company, is pleased to announce the successful completion of a US$15M fund raising from leading Korean biotech investors for its portfolio company, Curiox Biosystems Pte Ltd. The investment shall be used to scale up and accelerate the commercialisation activities of CURIOX globally.

ZIG is SEEDS Capital's co-investment partner under Startup SG Equity[1], and has been a cornerstone investor of CURIOX since 2011, proactively nurturing it through the incubation to commercialisation phases. In the commercialisation phase, ZIG also worked with Enterprise Singapore to support the CURIOX team in accessing its key target markets like the USA, and North Asian markets like China and Korea. As a result, the CURIOX team is now able to strengthen its market presence organically.

Says Mr Ted Tan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore and Chairman of SEEDS Capital, "The fundraise by Curiox Biosystems marks one of the successful early growth financing closures from international investors in Singapore's increasingly vibrant medtech landscape. Enterprise Singapore is working closely with intermediary partners such as ZIG Ventures, who have deep industry networks and expertise, to support more medtech companies like Curiox to quicken their commercialisation process and succeed on the global stage."

Globally, CURIOX has seen strong adoption and sales of the Laminar Wash™ HT1000 System since its launch, and the company has recently introduced two new systems, the Laminar Wash™ AUTO 1000 and Laminar Wash™ MINI. The AUTO 1000 system offers scientists a fully-automated flow cytometry staining platform designed to produce the most quantitative and reproducible results for flow cytometry. It offers easy, turnkey automation and complete flexibility to meet changing needs. Laminar Wash™ MINI is a smaller, benchtop unit designed for smaller throughput labs. It washes eight wells simultaneously in less than three minutes. The system improves consistency across users and sites by eliminating manual steps and sample handling.

"We are excited to launch two new systems for the scientific research community," says Dr. Namyong Kim, founder CEO of CURIOX. "Our new funding will help us expand our global reach to the flow cytometry community and other cell-based assay developers".

The deal is backed by established investors KB Investment, IMM Investment, QUAD Investment, HB Investment, DAYLI Investment, and SV Investment. CURIOX plans to pursue an IPO on the Korean stock exchange, KOSDAQ in the next 36 months to entrench its position as a dynamic bioinstrumentation company in the region.

The new board is led by Mr Sim Giok Lak, Chairman of ZIG, and includes Dr Kim Namyong, founder CEO of CURIOX, Mr Sim Kok Hwee, CEO of ZIG, Dr Hong Youngtae, Managing Director of QUAD Investment, and Ms Aleum Lee, VP of IMM Investment.

A Global Scientific Advisory Panel shall be established and led by Professor Alex Matter, who recently retired as the Executive Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Center (ETC), A*Star. Prof. Matter also chairs the Scientific Advisory Committee of Institute Pasteur Korea. Prior to leading ETC, Prof. Matter was the Global Head of Oncology Research at Novartis.

About ZIG VENTURES

ZIG is a medtech venture investment and commercialisation organisation based in Singapore. Established in 2014 as the corporate venturing arm of Zicom Group, a diversified engineering and manufacturing company, it was demerged from Zicom Group in 2018 to focus as a standalone investment organisation. ZIG is a co-investment partner of Enterprise Singapore and focuses on identifying early stage medtech innovation that is transformational, provides significant improvements in patients' clinical outcomes, and creates value for the healthcare ecosystem. Its portfolio companies are in the areas of oncology, healthcare analytics, ophthalmology, and life sciences sectors.

About CURIOX BIOSYSTEMS

CURIOX is a bioinstrumentation company spun out of the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. CURIOX has become a leader in the development and commercialisation of innovative assay platforms based on its expertise in surface chemistry and engineering. CURIOX's vision is to accelerate the progress of life sciences, drug discovery and diagnostics through the miniaturization and improved automation of bioassays.

[1] SEEDS Capital is the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing enterprise development. It manages the funds under Startup SG Equity, which catalyses private sector investments into innovative, Singapore-based tech startups.

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