OTTAWA, ONTARIO – January 25, 2006 – Epocal Inc. (“Epocal”), a developer of enterprise diagnostic products, announces that it has secured a US$2.5 million venture loan from MMV Financial Inc.
Epocal has developed the EPOC™ System, an enterprise point-of-care blood analysis platform that combines ultra-low cost diagnostic cards and bedside card readers to immediately deliver lab quality results to the bedside at a fraction of the manufacturing cost of conventional point-of-care testing solutions. The product development pipeline includes cards for a variety of test applications including immunoassay biomarker tests, general chemistries, hematology and hemostasis.
"We are very pleased to have MMV Financial join our investor group" said Dr. Imants Lauks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Epocal. "MMV’s investment was done quickly and efficiently, allowing us to strengthen our balance sheet while remaining focused on meeting our clinical and commercial objectives. This investment caps a good year for the Company, having concluded earlier in 2005 a CND$6.6 million Series B equity round and an investment of CND$1 million from the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP).
“We are excited about the potential for Epocal’s low cost technology which will allow the broad adoption of point-of-care testing, while providing the additional benefit of wireless connectivity to the enterprise”, added Brian Hendry, Senior Vice President, MMV Financial Inc.
About Epocal Inc.:
Epocal was founded in March 2001 and is located in Ottawa, Canada. Epocal's founding entrepreneur, Dr. Imants Lauks, is a recognized world leader in biochips and micro-fabrication of solid-state diagnostic devices. Epocal has brought together a team of scientists and engineers having over 100 years of combined technical expertise in the development and commercialization of state-of-the-art blood analysis systems, and is now commercializing a new generation of point-of-care blood diagnostic products based on its patented technologies.
About MMV Financial Inc.:
MMV Financial is a Toronto-based specialty finance company providing creative debt solutions to technology and life sciences companies, with a focus on the Canadian and North American sectors. MMV is backed by top U.S. and Canadian private equity firms and financial institutions including CCP Equity Partners of Hartford, Connecticut, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec of Montreal, and Wells Fargo Foothill, a part of Wells Fargo Company. For more information visit www.mmvf.com.
For more information contact:
Epocal Inc.
Joyce Wilson
Tel: (613) 738-6192 x.224
jwilson@epocal.com
MMV Financial Inc.
Brian Hendry, Senior Vice President
Tel: (416) 977-9718
bhendry@mmvf.com