Goa-based Molbio Diagnostic raises $85 Mn led by Temasek

Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics, which spearheaded India’s Covid-19 screening with portable and battery-operated real-time RT PCR point of care (PoC) testing system, has raised $85 million in a new round led by Temasek.

The proceeds will be used to strengthen and catalyze the company’s ability to develop and commercialize a host of near-care technologies based on clinical need gaps, the company said in a press release. It will also leverage new capital to fast-track its efforts to take the Truenat platform to global markets.

Truenat is a flagship product of Molbio Diagnostics which provides a real-time IoT-enabled testing kit for over 30 diseases. In March, the Indian government deployed Molbio Diagnostics’ Truenat platform as a frontline tool in the special door-to-door TB (Tuberculosis) screening initiative. 

Apart from TB, the platform can test for over 30 other diseases including hepatitis, HIV, dengue, and malaria. The company claims that more than 5,000 Truenat machines are being used across the private and public sectors for testing across 40 countries.

Previously, the company was also backed by Motilal Oswal.

Covid-19 might have eroded the scale of the majority of the businesses during FY21 but for healthcare diagnostic firms, it also threw up an unprecedented opportunity. On the back of the pandemic, the company recorded a 25X growth in the fiscal year ending March 2021. 

According to Fintrackr, Molbio’s collection from operations soared to Rs 1,272 crore as compared to Rs 51.53 crore in FY20, according to its annual financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (Roc). 

The company is yet to disclose its FY22 numbers. Importantly, it posted a profit of Rs 472.7 crore in FY21 against a loss of Rs 16.27 crore. Molbio aims to become a one-billion-dollar revenue company in the next 3-5 years by selling surveillance platforms for various diseases globally.