CroíValve, a medtech start-up providing a safe and effective treatment for tricuspid regurgitation, hasannounced that it has secured €3.2 million in an oversubscribed seed financing round. The round was led by the HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network) MedTech and Irrus Syndicates, alongside Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Enterprise Ireland, SOSV and a group of cardiologists who see the treatment’s transformative potential. The funding will support the continued development of CroíValve’s innovative technology.

People suffering with communication difficulties are benefitting from a new speech therapy service that has been developed by Caerphilly-based Cog-Neuro Speech Therapy Limited. With a £25,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales and a £60,000 grant from Innovate UK, the mobile application has been developed to help people with communication difficulties to regain their ability to communicate, maintain relationships and re-integrate into the community.  Cog-Neuro was first established by speech therapist Sheiladen Montero Aquino in 2012. She has now developed an application that will enhance speech therapy service for people with communication difficulties following a stroke, brain injury, and other progressive neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

The number of active UK biotechnology businesses in the field of research and experimental development has soared by 65% in just over three years as the sector attracts record levels of funding, according to new analysis by investment manager Downing LLP.

Belfast-based health tech company, Neurovalens, has secured one of the largest ever Series A investments generated by a Northern Irish technology company.

The company specialises in using neuroscience to solve everyday health issues.

The £4.6 million raise was led by London-based Wharton Asset Management along with Cambridge based IQ Capital. The round was also supported by Techstart Ventures, through its Invest NI-backed fund, The UU Fund, Co-Fund NI managed by Clarendon Fund Management, Beltrae Partners and the Angel CoFund.

As the tax year draws to a close, the Downing FOUR Venture Capital Trust (VCT) Healthcare Share Class remains open for end of year tax investments as part of a £10.2m top-up offer.

London-based veterinary tech business, Felcana, has received an early stage venture capital investment from Global Venture Partners and Seedrs. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2016 by veterinary professionals, Felcana combines artificial intelligence, data analytics and veterinary expertise to help predict, simplify and treat over 90% of health issues for dogs and cats. Felcana will use the fresh capital to expand its presence in the UK and to scale internationally.

Beauhurst has outlined the UK’s Life Sciences landscape and provided a downloadable spreadsheet of the top companies in the sector – by amount of funding received, percentage growth in turnover and latest valuation. 

AdoRx Therapeutics, a UK based drug discovery company, has announced that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC* and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of lung cancer. 

Award winning, social enterprise Memory Matters CIC, which runs the Moments Café in the heart of Plymouth, has received investment of £100,000 to franchise its innovative training package enabling it to be delivered to more people.  The investment came from the Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (South West) (H&WCF), managed by social impact investment company Resonance.

Angel-backed company PBD Biotech has had its novel Actiphage® testing technology named as the winner of the Royal Dairy Innovation Award at Dairy-Tech 2019.

The Royal Dairy Innovation trophy and certificate are awarded for research and development in the field of dairy farming. With the award going to the most practical, relevant product, which is likely to be the most significant innovation for the future of dairying.

Innovative biometric tracking service, Forth, which helps people to navigate their way to better health using simply at-home finger-prick blood tests, has secured new investment from its first institutional investor.  The new investment came from The Development Bank of Wales, together with a group of angels from Angels Invest Wales and South West based angel investors, including Craig Gulliford, CEO of Creo Medical.

Gulliford, who was an early investor in the company during its first raise on Crowdcube in 2017 and has since joined the board, said: “I have an affinity for technology-based companies that have an innovative and disruptive proposition backed by great people. Forth ticks this box and the management team crucially also have the energy, passion, determination to succeed at all costs”.

Last July, Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies raised $10m in equity finance. This was a significant moment in the UK’s investment scene, representing the first equity investment into a medicinal marijuana startup in nearly two decades (since GW Pharmaceuticals listed on the AIM in 2001).