Medical diagnostics pioneer Rhythm Biosciences Limited (ASX:RHY) has welcomed leading biotechnology investor Merchant Group as a substantial shareholder.
The Merchant Opportunities Fund now holds 5.02 percent of Rhythm Biosciences.
“We are particularly happy to have Merchant as a substantial shareholder, given their enviable record of combining thorough research with exceptional returns,’’ said Rhythm chief executive Trevor Lockett.
“That has been shown with many of their previous substantial shareholder investments in the biotechnology industry such as PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) where after almost 5 years, Merchant Group and the Merchant Opportunities Fund still maintains a substantial stake,” he said.
“We are confident that Merchant will be a supportive equity partner as we work diligently on commercialising the company’s simple and effective ColoSTAT blood test for colorectal cancer.’’
Dr Lockett said Rhythm was in the process of preparing reagents for the ColoSTAT blood test, which is the result of more than a decade of research and development by Rhythm and the CSIRO.
“Given that colorectal cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer death in the world, we are working as fast as we can to progress ColoSTAT so that it becomes an important tool in the early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer, along with other existing tools such as the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) and colonoscopy,’’ added Dr Lockett.