IP Group (LON:IPO ) said its portfolio company, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, has raised a further £84.4m of new capital in order to accelerate its commercial and manufacturing operations as well as ongoing innovation into the field of nanopore technology. 

The new capital was raised from both existing and new investors, including International Holdings Company (IHC) who invested £39m to help the company boost its COVID-19 testing capability following the group’s recent development of a new rapid test. 

The funding round takes the amount raised this year by Oxford Nanopore to £162.1 million, following fund raisings in January and May of £29.3 million and £48.4 million, respectively. 

Following the capital raise, IP Group, which holds a 15% undiluted beneficial stake in Oxford Nanopore Technologies, is now valued at £257.7 million.  

The directors said they will review the carrying value of Oxford Nanopore as part of the Group's Annual Results for 2020.

Shares in IP Group have almost doubled in value since April 2020 and opened 2.38% higher this morning at 81.85p following the announcement. 

On Monday, Oxford Nanopore Technologies secured a CE-mark for its LamPORE test , a rapid, scalable molecular diagnostic assay for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

The LamPORE test is designed to be performed on the group’s desktop device, GridION. According to data recorded by the company, the LamPORE rapid test showed 99.1% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity in a study, which evaluated more than 500 samples. 

The test targets three highly conserved SARS-CoV-2 genes, minimising inconclusive results and requirement for repeated testing. In addition, the rapid test can also identify between poorly collected samples and true negatives, using inbuilt control, the company noted. 

The group has partnered with the UK's Department of Health and Social Care with an initial order of 450,000 LamPORE tests which could potentially increase to millions per month. 

It is now pursuing further regulatory approvals in other countries, including emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the US. The company said it will roll out the test in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and UAE initially with plans to expand the distribution globally. 

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