Drug testing specialist Gentronix is to continue the development and marketing of its screening kits after it raised £1.4 million. The funding was led by NVM Private Equity, which invested £1 million for an undisclosed minority shareholding in the company.

Drug testing specialist Gentronix is to continue the development and marketing of its screening kits after it raised £1.4 million. The funding was led by NVM Private Equity, which invested £1 million for an undisclosed minority shareholding in the company.

NVM’s funding, its first in the company, was complemented by investments from Manchester Technology Fund and YFM Private Equity as well as capital from un-named private investors.

Manchester-based Gentronix’s main product is Greenscreen HC, which tests new drugs for potentially cancerous toxins at an early stage in their development. The company will use the funds to target its screening kits not only at the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors but the cosmetic, environmental and fine chemical markets.

Gentronix was established in 1999 and is a spin-out from The University of Manchester. The company offers two screening kits which are used by organisations such as Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline.