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Introducing our February 2023 Investment Hub cohort

In February, MedCity’s Investment Hub will be hosting a virtual pitch event, with six breakthrough companies presenting their business models and products to a select group of investors. Each company can demonstrate technology with a direct or indirect impact on patients, and has been through a highly competitive selection process, led by the Investment Hub’s panel of specialist life sciences angel and venture capital (VC) investors.

Our Investment Hub connects SMEs with our ever-growing community of angels and VCs that are focused specifically on investing in innovative life sciences and healthcare businesses. It also benefits investors by introducing them to early stage, de-risked companies. Two notable examples of Investment Hub success stories are highlighted in our 2021 Impact Report. One of these, The Electrospinning Company, received investment of £4.5m in May 2021, and another, AccuRx, successfully completed a £27.5million funding round in September 2021.

Here are the six selected and pre-screened companies that will make up our February 2023 Investment Hub cohort:

Ablatus is solving a huge female health issue – the choice between heavy, painful periods or open surgery and a loss of fertility. Up to 8 in 10 women before 50 suffer from uterine fibroids, a market estimated at $4.6Bn. Ablatus offers the potential for an incisionless, fertility-preserving, same-day procedure, using their patented DC-enhanced radiofrequency ablation technology at significantly lower costs. With only 2 FDA-approved solutions amongst competitors (valued between $85m-25Bn), and existing UK and US regulatory and reimbursement pathways, Ablatus is raising £2M to offer a better, faster, and cheaper treatment option for millions of women by the end of 2024.

BFB Labs is building resilience in children & young people. Half of all mental health disorders start by the age of 14, yet 70% of young people don’t get access to timely mental health support. BFB Labs combines complex therapeutic frameworks, immersive gaming and real time data for better youth mental health in a way that is fun, accessible and scalable across diverse health care systems. They received non-dilutive NHS investment in 2019, achieved CE mark, and – in just 2 years – have over £1 million of contract value agreed with health and social care buyers in the UK. They are now raising £2M investment to build their capacity, along with a new product (NIHR funded feasibility study completed), to further growth and to hit the next milestone of a Series A raise in 2025.

Encelo has developed an alternative method to capture cells from urine, extending shelf life of samples 6-fold. Its patent-pending Cell Catcher device is designed to be sent directly to patients, used at home and mailed back to a laboratory with live cells preserved. The minimum viable product (MVP) has been validated in three London hospitals in 2022, showing increased efficiency in capturing cells, compared to centrifugation. The technology is expected to impact the field of personalised medicine in renal and cancer disease areas, as well as disrupting biobanking space. They are currently raising £475k for manufacture and launch of V2 of the device, with 50% already committed.

Proteotype Diagnostics has originated an entirely new platform to detect, quantify and monitor disease, including its treatment. The company measures naturally occurring analytes in their native solution, using a simple assay based on amino acid-specific bio-orthogonal chemistry. These real-time amino acid biomarkers are 100 trillion times more abundant than the genetic markers used in state-of-the-art approaches. They provide cross-sectional snapshots, quantifying healthy and disease states, and resulting in a test that is both cost-effective and scalable. Proteotype has achieved clinical proof of concept for detecting cancer, multi-cancer, early-stage cancer, autoimmune (rheumatoid arthritis) and movement disorders (Parkinson’s), and is currently seeking £3M funding to help achieve their next inflection point, multi-cancer early detection.

Sirgartan Therapeutics is developing a drug that modulates glutamate for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with excellent initial results and fast onset of action in rat models gained at the University of Cambridge. This repositioned drug with newly filed patents can go directly into phase 2 studies upon completion of the pre-clinical studies. The team is seeking £500,000 in investment to complete the pre-clinical studies and plan the phase 2 studies.

Smart Respiratory is helping prevent asthma attacks with AI-powered software and sensors. Proactively monitoring asthma can reduce hospitalisation by 57% – but doctors lack reliable real time information on patients. Smart Asthma uses a modular system of patented sensors, AI-based apps and medical reporting, to detect and predict worsening lung function and symptoms before exacerbations. It is already deployed across the UK and internationally, both as a patient self-monitoring solution and as a remote patient monitoring system for medical professionals. The company is currently raising £2.5M for further clinical validation, market access and NHS integration.

Register to attend

Investors – to make sure you don’t miss hearing from these six companies, register now:

02 Feb 2022 – virtual pitch event

09 Feb 2022 – in-person meet the founder event

Please note we have limited capacity and registration is only open to certified investors. Unfortunately, registrations from anyone outside of that category will not be accepted.

Please be aware MedCity do not take responsibility for the information presented by each company and any associated investments made.

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