NEW YORK – Lucira Health said on Tuesday that it has entered into a debt facility of up to $80 million with Hercules Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
Under the term loan, Lucira received the first tranche of $30 million at closing on Feb. 4 and will receive a second tranche of $20 million between Sept. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, upon achieving certain milestones. A third tranche of $15 million will be available before June 15, 2023, also contingent on certain milestones, while a fourth tranche of $15 million may be available before March 15, 2024, as determined by Hercules and SVB, Lucira said.
The financing will be used to broaden commercial activities and bolster capital reserves, Lucira President and CEO Erik Engelson said in a statement. The company went public in a $153 million stock offering last February.
The firm currently offers its Lucira Check-It COVID-19 test kit, which received Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in April 2021, over the counter and its Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One test kit, which nabbed EUA in November 2020, as a prescription test. Both at-home molecular tests use real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification and are designed to provide results within 30 minutes.