Spinout News
Endomagnetics raises further investment to support US clinical trial, sales support and new product development
19 November 2014
Endomagnetics Ltd, the cancer healthcare spinout company from UCL , has raised a further £2m to support its pivotal US clinical trial and the launch of a new cancer marker product in 2015.
The funds will also accelerate market development beyond EMEA and Australasia, where the company is already established, and also drive forward product development beyond the initial breast cancer application.
Endomagnetics’ SentiMag® instrument and Sienna+® tracer material have been well received by surgeons in Europe and Australasia with in excess of 2000 surgeries undertaken using the company’s products. Endomagnetics solutions provide surgeons with a way of locating lymph nodes as part of cancer staging procedures, which Endomagnetics makes faster, more convenient and cost effective than the traditional radioisotope based techniques.
Endomagnetics also allows the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) technique to be extended to hospitals and clinics without access to radioisotope handling facilities.
“We are looking forward to bringing this important technology to the 40% of patients in the developed world – and the even greater proportion of patients globally – who cannot currently benefit from SLNB procedures,” said Dr Eric Mayes, CEO of Endomagnetics.
The latest financing round was led by Regents Park Partners II with substantive participation from existing investors, UCL Business and New Wave Ventures. It takes the total funds raised by Endomagnetics to £7m.
“Endomagnetics is carving out a strong and differentiated position in the healthcare market,” said Dr Steven Schooling of UCL Business, “We are delighted to be supporting growth of the company’s activities across application areas and geographies and look forward to the company reinforcing its position as one of the UK’s most promising healthcare startup companies.”
Earlier this year, Endomagnetics upgraded its SentiMag® probe to a higher performance model of only 18mm in diameter, allowing for minimal surgical invasiveness, much improved sensitivity and better handling characteristics.
Commenting on the launch of its Gen2 SentiMag® in Australia at the 2014 Australasian Society of Breast Disease meeting, Dr Mayes said: “Our system has been evaluated across Australia and New Zealand, and the interest has created a promising pipeline for our distributor, Aurora BioScience.”
With sales growing strongly across multiple regions through Endomagnetics’ EMEA distributor Sysmex Europe, work is now underway to extend the technology to applications that help clinicians address melanoma and colorectal cancer.
In June, the company announced the acquisition of the ACT portfolio from Actium Biosystems to extend Endomagnetics’ oncology platform into therapeutics. Endomagnetics’ magnetic nanoparticle technology is expected to address the shortcomings of current hyperthermia systems by helping to control the delivery of heat to specific locations.
About Endomagnetics
Endomagnetics Ltd was founded to solve cancer staging and healthcare challenges through the application of advanced magnetic sensing technology and nanotechnology. Endomagnetics is developing a portfolio of medical device products based on a patented ability to detect magnetic materials in the human body with exceptional sensitivity. The technology was originally developed at University College London and the University of Houston.
The company’s first product, the SentiMag®, is an ultrasensitive hand-held probe for tracking injected Sienna+® nanoscale magnetic materials in the human body. Cambridge, UK-based Endomagnetics is in the process of delivering its technology to global markets.
For more information please visit: www.endomagnetics.com
About UCLB
UCL Business PLC (UCLB) is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market.
For further information, please visit: www.uclb.com or follow us on Twitter @UCL_Business