• epipole

  Led · Equity · Jan 2022

  Epipole develops retinal imaging solutions, including handheld devices that take video scans of patients' retinas for assessment and diagnosis. Its flagship product is the video retinal imaging device, the epiCam. The company plans to use new funding to expand into the US market and to hire staff to support product launches and early commercialisation. Target clinical customers for commercialisation include primary care optometry and general ophthalmology practices. Epipole has undergone recent leadership change, appointing medtech executive Conal Harte as CEO while founder Craig Robertson moves to chief technology officer. Financially, the company recently secured fresh investment of £1.3 million and previously raised £1.5 million in June 2020 to support US market entry. Epipole, founded in 2011 and based in Scotland, created a patented technology that captures real-time video of the retina and extracts high-quality still images for clinical examination. Its core product is a portable, lower-cost alternative to large desktop retinal cameras. The company positions the device for easy use in primary care optometry and ophthalmology settings. Epipole has worked with ophthalmologists to test and refine features and capabilities. It plans to use the recent funding to implement key product changes and accelerate commercial rollout. The company announced a target of having product available by early 2021 and appointed Ian Stevens as chairman to support market introduction.

• Micrima

  Participated · Convertible Note · Apr 2021

  Micrima has developed the MARIA® radio-wave breast scanning system, a non‑ionising, no‑compression imaging method intended to improve early breast cancer diagnosis. The company is at commercial stage with initial sales of its technology and distribution agreements in Germany, Austria and Switzerland through Hologic, Inc. A seventh-generation MARIA® system is planned for launch later this year, bringing improved accuracy, ergonomics and a new density‑scoring functionality. Management says the device has proven effective at accurately identifying cancer in diagnostic clinic trials and performs well in dense tissue versus the gold standard. The recent financing is intended to fund the next stage of product development, commercialisation and resumption of clinical data collection. Leadership also plans to work on automated classification of findings using the system's rich dataset. Micrima develops MARIA, a patented, CE-marked radiowave breast imaging system intended as an alternative to mammography. The system uses harmless radio-waves and requires no breast compression, and has been trialled in over 400 women in the UK. Trials at leading European centres are about to commence and the technology has proven effective in dense tissue. The company plans to move MARIA into full commercial launch later in 2018 and to expand the team with strategic hires. Micrima is led by Executive Chairman Roy Johnson and is based in Bristol, UK. The company recently raised additional equity to support product development and commercialization. Micrima is a Bristol, UK–based breast imaging company that has developed a CE Mark–approved radiowave imaging technology. The company’s core product is the MARIA system, which aims to make breast screening safer, more comfortable and more accessible. Micrima closed a £2.6m funding round to accelerate development and begin commercialization toward the end of this year. Backers in the round included Technology Venture Partners LLP, Swarraton Partners and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund. The company is advancing a second version of the MARIA system due early next year, which will offer enhanced functionality including the ability to automatically distinguish between different types of lesion. Micrima is led by Executive Chairman Roy Johnson. Micrima develops a radiowave radar medical imaging system aimed at improving breast cancer detection. The company is led by executive chairman Roy Johnson and is based in Bristol, UK. It raised a further £600k in funding to advance the imaging system’s performance and validation. Proceeds will fund targeted performance improvements, the collection of validating clinical data at Bristol’s Southmead Hospital, hires for product development, and early work toward regulatory approval. Micrima’s primary interest is providing the first truly alternative breast‑cancer screening modality in decades. The firm had previously raised £900k in April 2012.

• Sphere Fluidics

  Led · Equity · Jun 2019

  Sphere Fluidics develops and commercialises single-cell analysis systems underpinned by its proprietary picodroplet technology, centered on the Cyto-Mine® Single Cell Analysis System. Cyto-Mine is an automated, cost-effective platform that integrates single-cell screening, sorting, dispensing, imaging, and clone verification and can process millions of samples per day. The platform is used across antibody discovery, cell line development, and single-cell diagnostics and has been purchased by global pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, CDMOs, and leading research institutions. The company plans to use new funding to expand international sales activities and improve customer support. It will also expand product R&D programs and pursue novel applications in areas such as cell therapy, synthetic biology, and genome editing, alongside ongoing platform enhancements. As part of the announced financing, new investors will join the company board to support growth and commercialization efforts. Sphere Fluidics commercializes single-cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology. Its Cyto-Mine® Single Cell Analysis System integrates single cell screening, sorting, dispensing, imaging and clone verification to streamline biologics discovery and cell line development. The platform can process up to 40 million cells per day and isolates cells producing specific antibodies or biologics. The company closed an additional $2.9 million tranche, securing a total of $4.8 million (£3.7 million) in investment, to be used as working capital for Cyto-Mine® and for expansion. Proceeds will support expansion of the UK facility, the opening of a US sales office and demo lab in California, and the doubling of personnel. Sphere Fluidics is recruiting and evaluating prospective new facilities to support the growth of its commercial and scientific activities. Sphere Fluidics develops and commercializes the Cyto‑Mine automated single‑cell analysis platform, which integrates screening, sorting, dispensing, imaging and clone verification. Cyto‑Mine can process up to 40 million cells per day and is used to streamline antibody discovery and cell line development workflows. The company is based in Cambridge, England, and sells its systems to researchers in biotherapeutic discovery and cell line development. Sphere Fluidics closed a $2 million (circa £1.5 million) investment round to accelerate growth in operations and support sales of Cyto‑Mine. The funds will be used to expand operations and sales capabilities across the UK and USA and to open a new US West Coast sales office. Management said it will invest in automating and streamlining manufacturing across its product range and expects to raise additional funds to expand capabilities further. Sphere Fluidics develops Cyto-Mine, an integrated device that uses picodroplet technology and microfluidics to process around 1 million heterogeneous mammalian cells in less than half a day. Each cell is encapsulated in a picodroplet containing growth media that acts as a bioreactor, enabling compartmentalization, growth, trapping of secreted molecules such as antibodies, and selective screening to find rare lead candidates. The company is led by Dr. Frank F. Craig (CEO), Dr. Marian Rehak (R&D Director) and Dr. Rob Marchmont (Commercial Director). Sphere Fluidics secured $7M in the first close of its latest funding round, which remains open. The company intends to use the proceeds to accelerate development of the manufactured version of Cyto-Mine and to enable a commercial launch later in the year reported. The business is based in Cambridge, UK. Sphere Fluidics develops proprietary products and collaborative R&D services for single-cell analysis and characterisation. The company was founded on IP generated by the University of Cambridge and has in‑licensed 10 patent families from the University and other institutions. Its core technology is protected by 51 patents. Development to date has been funded with £2.3m of equity and over £7m of grants. The articles position the company as an established life sciences business with a protected technology base and ongoing external investment activity. No operating metrics (revenue/users) are provided in the articles.

No current team members are available.