A YORK-based diagnostics company whose products include Covid-19 antibody tests has raised £22m in a flotation on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange today.

The flotation values Abingdon Health which secured an order from the government for one million of its rapid Covid-19 antibody tests in October at around £92m.

Chief executive officer Chris Yates said the move was an 'important milestone'.

Abingdon is a lateral flow diagnostics company providing contract service solutions to clients globally in healthcare and other industries.

Its services include product development, regulatory support, technology transfer and commercial manufacturing.

The York-based company, which has operations in Doncaster and Birmingham, has developed and is manufacturing the AbC-19TM Rapid Test.

This antibody test for Covid-19 indicates whether a person is generating IgG antibodies to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The company is also working with other customers to transfer their Covid-19 antigen tests to manufacture, and is manufacturing a component of a rapid PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

Abingdon also produces lateral flow tests covering non-Covid-19 applications in areas such as self-test HIV, equine infection, human fertility, blood cancer and other infectious diseases across the healthcare sector as well as other areas such as fuel contamination in the aviation sector and testing for water contaminants.

Chris Yates, CEO, said: “We are pleased to have achieved this important milestone and to be making our debut on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange today.

"The money raised will, amongst other things, enable us to scale up our manufacturing in order to meet the demand for our AbC-19TM rapid lateral-flow test and allow us to further establish our global commercial and operational footprint in broader areas including infectious disease, fertility, cancer markers, animal health, plant pathogen and environmental testing."

Abingdon Health was first backed by NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) in 2019.

It has received investment of £2.1m from NPIF alongside other investors which was used to develop the company’s propriety technology, fund the acquisition of a new lateral flow manufacturing facility in Doncaster, help expand the senior leadership team and develop the Board through the appointment of several non-executive directors.

Mr Yates added: "I would like to thank Mercia and NPIF for their support and we are looking forward to this next exciting chapter in Abingdon Heath’s development.”

Mark Wyatt, investment director for Mercia said: “It is great to see Abingdon showcasing the strong research and development and manufacturing capabilities available in the North of England.

"The business is creating high-value life science jobs off the back of delivering products of significant relevance to multiple different markets, including human and animal health and other industrial sectors.

"It has been a pleasure working with the experienced team and seeing them delivering on a very focused and ambitious business proposition. We are delighted that the future potential of the company is being supported by the wider investment community and we look forward to watching Abingdon flourish during its next phase of growth.”

Ken Cooper, managing director of the British Business Bank, said: “This is an excellent example of an NPIF investee business growing in value, while driving innovation and employment opportunities in the region. The company’s AIM listing is a vote of confidence in its future growth plans and we wish Chris and the team every success in the future.”