Syniad’s Gemina Labs Announces Strategic Stake in British Rapid Test Optimizer RapivD Limited

December 7, 2022, Vancouver, British Columbia – Syniad Innovations Inc (“Syniad”) is pleased to announce that Gemina Laboratories Ltd.  (CSE: GLAB) (FRA: 817) (the “Company” or “Gemina”)  has entered into a definitive share exchange agreement (the “Definitive Agreement”) with RAPIvD Limited (“RAPIvD”) and the holders (the “RAPIvD Shareholders”) of the ordinary shares of RAPIvD (the “RAPIvD Shares”). Pursuant to the Definitive Agreement, the Company has acquired 19% of the issued and outstanding RAPIvD Shares and has the option (the “Option”), subject to certain conditions, to acquire all the remaining issued and outstanding RAPIvD Shares (collectively, the “Transaction”).

About RAPIvD

RAPIvD is a United Kingdom company founded by Dr. Robert Porter in 2016. Since its formation, RAPIvD has built an exceptional industry reputation for successfully converting rapid test prototypes into optimized, approved, manufacturable products. This was a service that RAPIvD performed for Gemina as the Company progressed its Legio XTM COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test through the latter stages of its development. The process enabled Gemina to thoroughly assess the competencies of the RAPIvD team, which were outstanding in terms of cost and performance. In addition, RAPIvD has developed a proprietary device platform, which, when combined with Gemina’s chemistry platform, has the potential to support the development of a new product category, namely quantitative rapid tests. Whereas traditional rapid tests provide a simple “positive/negative” result, quantitative rapid tests are designed to provide a measurement of the concentration of the target biomarker. This, Gemina believes, will be an important feature of next-generation point-of-care diagnostics and human wellness tests. Taking this strategic stake in RAPIvD is the first stage in a process that aligns the Gemina chemistry platform with accelerated product development competencies and the high-feature device designs that Gemina plans to bring to market in the future.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Iain Evans, Syniad’s Chief Investment Officer, said, “This is a cracking step forward for Gemina and marks the first corporate cross-border transaction in the Syniad portfolio.  It’s a demonstration of just how quickly an early-stage company can internationalize. Many congratulations to both teams!”

Brian Firth, Gemina’s CEO, stated, “We couldn’t have had a better development partner than RAPIvD over the last year. It’s been a textbook example of how a producing partnership creates the business logic for a strategic investment. RAPIvD offers us a fantastic acceleration in terms of converting Gemina’s chemistry platform into a succession of tests in the respiratory market. Rob Porter and his team have an industry-leading reputation for making the leap from platform to product. Together, we are incredibly well positioned to deliver the next generation of rapid tests to market.”

“I’ve spent over 35 years in rapid test development, and in my view, the Gemina chemistry platform is the most important technological step forward for lateral flow tests since the mid 1980s,” added Rob Porter. “I am incredibly pleased to be able to join forces with Gemina, and together, we’ve got a compelling proposition in point-of-care testing that will really capture the attention of the diagnostic market.”

Learn more at: https://www.geminalabs.com/

Syniad Innovations is a company focused on building breakthrough deep tech companies around cutting-edge advances in science & engineering, like quantum networking.

Syniad addresses some of the world’s most pressing challenges by collaborating with exceptional researchers and provides the expertise, capital, and networks to help accelerate their ideas into important new products and services. Founded in 2015 in Vancouver, Syniad possesses a unique pedigree in research commercialization.

Our experience includes projects with various stakeholders, from Fortune 500 companies to governments and universities that want a step change in impact.