HARDLY has the dust settled when expanding Science City York bioscience group Avacta plc has announced its second multi-million pound acquisition in a week.

On Tuesday, Business Press revealed the detection and analysis technology developer, which is on the verge of marketing breakthrough devices that help to diagnose diseases from breath samples, was poised to take over London-based Curidium Medica plc in a deal worth £6.18 million.

Today, award-winning Avacta announced it has bought up Theragenetics Ltd, another medicine diagnostics company in a deal worth £2.05 million, largely through a share issue and £23,000 in cash.

Theragenetics, which has a London base and a research laboratory at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London, is doing similar work to Curidium Medica in that it is developing personalised medical tests for diseases of the central nervous system.

The Avacta Group, a former Press New Business Of The Year, will help the two organisations to develop and market new products and services. It has already been praised by scientific and business leaders in York for its bold expansion during the economic crisis.

Avacta’s own products include a device that can analyse gases and volatile organic compounds (VOVs) in human breath. It brings ever-closer the vision of a GP inviting a patient to breath into an Avacta machine which could instantly detect a cancer or other gastric diseases.

The group has also developed “the box” – technology that has military and security implications because it can rapidly identify the nature of viruses in germ warfare, instantly detect avian flu or be used as a medical diagnostic tool.

A first major step to bring these skills under one umbrella came 13 months ago when Avacta took over Medical Diagnostics Ltd for £3 million.

The latest takeover should help to add at least ten new jobs to the staff of 30 in York.

Dr Alastair Smith, Avacta’s chief executive, said: “This is an opportunity for Avacta to develop further its business in the diagnostics sector.

“The anticipated integration of Theragenetics and Curidium within the enlarged group will create a large intellectual property position in central nervous system personalised medicine that has the potential to be a significant asset to the group.”