Cologne, Germany-based BioEcho manufactures proprietary sample lysis and purification tools for rapid, high-quality extraction of nucleic acids.  The company’s EchoLUTION single-step purification technology enables faster and more simplified DNA and RNA extraction workflows versus traditional bind-wash-elute solutions while minimizing inhibitors of downstream PCR and sequencing applications.  By streamlining the nucleic acid purification workflow into a simplified centrifugation step, BioEcho also minimizes plastic consumption relative to traditionally used methods.  More recently, the company’s CE-marked viral RNA extraction kit has played a critical role in enabling the rapid scale-up of SARS-CoV-2 testing across Europe, and BioEcho plans to launch several more CE-marked kits for molecular diagnostics and research applications in 2022-2023.

Dr. Markus Müller, Cofounder and Co-Managing Director commented, “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Ampersand in catalyzing the next phase of growth for BioEcho. Ampersand’s expertise and resources will be a significant benefit to BioEcho as we further expand into new markets and capitalize on the speed, quality, simplicity, and sustainability benefits that our products offer users, whether that is in SARS-CoV-2 testing or in a wide variety of other diagnostic, research, and industrial applications.”

Cofounder and Co-Managing Director Dr. Frank Schäfer added, “This partnership comes at a critical moment in the company’s history: the rapid success of our SARS-CoV-2 purification kits is strong validation of the benefits our technologies can bring to customers, and with a deep pipeline of new solutions ready for commercialization, now is the perfect time to accelerate our expansion and leverage Ampersand’s deep expertise in this market.  Further, we are excited that our partnership with Ampersand will help accelerate our expansion to the U.S.—a key priority for 2022.”

Frank Witney, PhD., Operating Partner at Ampersand, added, “Given Ampersand’s experience in the molecular diagnostics and tools markets, we were highly impressed by the differentiated products and technologies offered by BioEcho.  Over the last two years, BioEcho has been a key partner to molecular diagnostics labs across Europe, providing critical purification kits that have accelerated COVID-19 PCR testing workflows and enabled the rapid scale-up of labs across the continent.  We are excited to partner with Dr. Müller, Dr. Schäfer, and the rest of the BioEcho team to continue supporting our global communities in the fight against COVID-19 while also accelerating the company’s global commercialization of new products in other clinical and non-clinical applications.”

In connection with the transaction, Frank Witney has joined the BioEcho Board of Directors along with Ampersand Vice President Arya Mehrabanzad. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.