Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd has announced it is to build a new high-volume, high-tech manufacturing facility in Oxford.

The firm is to invest £100million in the project and the funds were raised

from global investors including GIC (Singapore), CCB International (CCBI, China), Hostplus (Australia), and existing investors.

The facility will be used to meet accelerating demand for Oxford Nanopore's sequencing technology, and growth of the commercial team that already serves more than 70 countries.

The funds raised will also support R&D as Oxford Nanopore expands its suite of nanopore analysis devices. The currently available pocket MinION and desktop GridION are being joined by high-throughput modular sequencing with PromethION and small, single-test sequencing with Flongle.

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Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO, Oxford Nanopore, said: "Our business is moving quickly, from personal sequencers into high-end sequencing and distributed analyses. In recent weeks, both Oxford Nanopore and our customers have shown very high yields of data from PromethION Flow Cells, demonstrating low-cost long-read nanopore sequencing at large scale. Meanwhile, we are driving a change in how scientists and industries access DNA information, by introducing smaller, accessible, low-cost formats, including our forthcoming smartphone sequencer SmidgION. Our investors are ambitious and support our long-term vision: to enable the analysis of any living thing, by anyone, anywhere.

"We would also like to thank the innovative community of nanopore users, who have been instrumental in driving new uses for our products."

Prime Minister Theresa May said: "I'm pleased that such a pioneering British business has obtained the investment they need to grow, creating thousands more jobs and continuing ground-breaking research in this field here in the UK. Through our modern Industrial Strategy we are making sure that Britain remains the natural choice for innovative firms to prosper – investing in the future of our country."

(CD/MH)