Aiming to change the future of animal health treatments through improved, earlier diagnostics, the capital will be used to continue global growth plans and revolutionise animal health testing, improving diagnosis and wellness among the pet, agriculture and equine sectors.

Edinburgh-based MI:RNA’s vision is to change the approach to disease diagnosis to improve animals’ outcomes. The merits of MI:RNA technology are scientifically reviewed and proven, winning numerous grants and awards.

Funds have been raised from eight investors across three continents, including new investors,

NovaQuest (lead Investor), Kyoritsu Holdings (owner of a Japanese animal health company), VANE (Angel Syndicate), Animal Health Angels, and Companion Fund I, LLC (VC). Existing investors adding to the series A round are Gabriel, Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise.

Eve Hanks, CEO and founder, said: “Following on from our successful seed funding round from Gabriel Investments and Equity Gap, Series A is an important milestone in our global growth plans, as we seek to improve health outcomes for animals through earlier disease diagnosis using revolutionary biomarker technology and artificial intelligence.

“The geographical spread of this investment round reflects the global opportunity for MI:RNA to deploy our platform for better outcomes for pets.”

Brian Axe, managing director at NovaQuest Capital Management, said: “NovaQuest is extremely excited to lead the Series A with an exceptional syndicate of investors.

“Eve has assembled an excellent team and strong partners to help bring this disruptive and innovative diagnostic to both Production and Companion Animals.

“Not only identifying disease, but understanding stage of disease and progression through cellular mechanisms is the amazing potential miRNAs hold. We believe this technology has tremendous potential.”

Peter Glassman, DVM, executive committee member & co-founder at Veterinary Angel Network (VANE), said: “Our network of veterinarians, business owners, entrepreneurs, and industry experts are committed to supporting innovation in the animal health field.

“We invest in businesses that help pet owners, animals or veterinary teams and MI:RNA is an exciting investment opportunity at the cutting edge of science and technology.

“Our members were impressed by the MI:RNA team and by the market application opportunity for vet practices globally to detect and stage diseases earlier.”

The investment will be used to continue to grow in partnership with key multinationals in animal health.