Delphic Europe Ltd, the UK's leading provider of specialist diagnostics products and services for HIV clinics, has raised $1.2 Million from MMC Ventures, who led the funding round, and The Capital Fund. Delphic will use the new funds to expand its unique 'one-stop-shop' HIV diagnostics service, which includes viral resistance testing, therapeutic drug monitoring and genetic screening, to HIV centers and sexual health clinics across Europe.

Delphic has further strengthened its position by acquiring the world-leading clinical therapeutic drug monitoring service developed by the Liverpool HIV Pharmacology Group. This latest acquisition builds upon Delphic's recent purchase of the genetics laboratory Genovar Bioscience Ltd.

With the advent of combination antiretroviral drug therapy, HIV has become a chronic condition requiring lifelong treatment and routine diagnostic intervention. HIV diagnostics are, however, supplied by a fragmented system of hospital laboratories and generalist providers with turnaround times and reporting formats meeting the needs of the laboratory rather than the clinician.

Tim Leaver, Founder and Managing Director of Delphic, said: "Diagnostic monitoring is now an integral part of the treatment of HIV. The conjunction of virology, pharmacology and genetic screening has allowed individualised care to become the 'standard of care' in HIV treatment, ensuring that patients are on the right drugs and achieve the right concentration of those drugs. Delphic provides a clinician-focussed service, supplying a suite of coordinated diagnostic tests to rapid turnaround times. We are also expanding into routine testing, such as viral load testing for HIV and hepatitis, and are developing a new bioinformatics-based product with the support of an advisory panel of world HIV key opinion leaders."

Founded in 2001 by Tim Leaver, Delphic's board includes world experts and key opinion leaders in HIV, Professor David Back and Dr Saye Khoo (University of Liverpool) and Dr Anton Pozniak (Chelsea and Westminster Hospital)

Mr Leaver continued: "Delphic is a revenue-generating business and is now ready to roll out its proven business model into the wider European market. We have the business, scientific and clinical leadership to capitalise on our existing products, to bring new diagnostics into our portfolio and to develop a web-enabled bioinformatics-based product which will further enhance the potential for individualised care for HIV patients. The HIV diagnostics market in the UK is 'mirrored' across Europe, and negotiations are already underway to establish the business in other territories, particularly in Italy and Spain, the largest European markets."