Oxford Nanopore Technologies said that it has raised ￡100 million ($126.6 million) in a private placement of ordinary shares.

The funding round was led by new investor GT Healthcare Capital Partners, a private investment group based in Asia, and existing investor Woodford Investment Management. Existing investor IP Group and other new and existing investors also participated in the round.

Including the new funding, Oxford Nanopore has now raised a total of ￡351 million.

"We will be using these funds to expand our commercial operations across a range of territories, including in Asia," said Oxford Nanopore CEO Gordon Sanghera in a statement.

GT Healthcare Founder and Managing Partner Alan Au added that his group is eager to work with Oxford Nanopore "to accelerate our expansion in new markets, particularly the Greater China markets."

Oxford Nanopore also plans to use the funding for the production, sales, and marketing of its MinIon portable sequencer, PromethIon high-throughput sequencer, and VolTrax automated sample prep device. In addition, it plans to improve existing products and continue development of new ones, including the SmidgIon mini sequencer.