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Sun-Q Jeon, founder of MiCo, will now take over as chair of Trinity Biotech as the two companies expand their diagnostic tech in new markets.
Trinity Biotech, an Irish diagnostic technology company, has received a $45m investment from South Korea’s MiCo in a deal that will see it take 29.9pc of the Bray-based company.
Announced earlier this week, the deal will allow Trinity Biotech to repay part of its $81.25m loan.
The deal will also see MiCo founder and chair, Sun-Q Jeon, take up the position of chair of Trinity Biotech while two new members will be added to its board.
MiCo, listed on the stock market in South Korea, is company that provides technology to the semiconductor and green energy sectors. Its interest in Trinity Biotech comes through its affiliate MiCo BioMed business, which develops AI-based rapid point-of-care diagnostic technology.
Covid-19 has changed the way diagnostic practices function, ushering in a shift from centralised lab-based testing to point-of-care and home-based approaches. MiCo and Trinity Biotech hope to build technology that assists in this transition and innovates in the space.
Trinity Biotech chair and CEO Ronan O’Caoimh said that his company, which has been around for 30 years, will use MiCo’s tech expertise and geographic networks to accelerate the commercialisation of Trinity Biotech’s diagnostic platforms.
“I am particularly excited that Trinity Biotech will have access to MiCo BioMed’s leading-edge molecular PCR platform, which will immediately strengthen our portfolio of leading diagnostic products,” he said.
Trinity Biotech has a long history in developing point-of-care diagnostic technology in the Irish and international markets, with a broad range of products across infectious diseases, haemoglobins and autoimmunity.
With this deal, it will distribute MiCo diagnostic platforms in its core markets, including Europe and North America. Meanwhile, MiCo will help expand Trinity Biotech’s reach in the Asia-Pacific market.
“It is exciting to see MiCo and Trinity Biotech allied to serve our global customers to meet their diagnostic needs by effectively utilising the resources of the two companies,” said Jeon. “We will keep innovating our tests and testing platforms in the post-Covid-19 era to become a major player in the global IVD (in-vitro diagnostic) industry.”
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