Syncona Ltd has founded Quell Therapeutics, a new cell therapy company, with a £35 million commitment in a Series A financing of which Syncona has committed £34.0 million with a further £1.0 million being contributed by UCL Technology Fund. Syncona will have a 69.3 per cent stake (1) in the business, with the first tranche of the Series A commitment of £8.3m paid in May 2019.

Angel backed novel diagnostic developer PBD Biotech has appointed new CEO Mark Hammond to drive the company’s expansion. 

The global biomedical market is in the midst of a period of stable growth and Catalonia, one of the most dynamic healthcare hubs in the world, is also enjoying this trend. 2018 was a positive year for the Catalan biomedical business fabric, in terms of funding, R&D alliances and advances, and launching new drugs and medical technology.

Bowmark Capital, the mid-market private equity firm, has agreed to sell CARE Fertility, the UK’s leading fertility clinic group for IVF treatment, to Silverfleet Capital.

EMV Capital has acquired a controlling stake in Bay Area-based Vortex Biosciences, and a further investment package to accelerate the company’s development.

Touch Biometrix has received a £2million investment from Deepbridge Capital.

The Series A funding through the Deepbridge Technology Growth Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fund follows initial seed funding of £150,000 last year.

North Wales based Touch Biometrix is developing a new class of fingerprint sensor for application to consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops.

Foresight Group has made a £5 million growth capital investment into Northern Ireland’s largest private healthcare business, 352 Medical Group Limited. 

Intermediate Capital Group’s Europe VII Fund has announced it has, in partnership with Mérieux Equity Partners and DOC Generici’s management team, agreed to invest in Doc Generici, one of Italy’s largest independent generic pharmaceutical companies - subject to antitrust approval.

BGF has successfully exited its minority stake in care service provider, The Good Care Group, alongside all other shareholders. Following a period of significant organic growth, the company has been acquired by Sodexo UK. The Good Care Group offers industry-leading live-in care services which help people live well at home for longer by providing specialist care in the comfort of the home.  Founded in 2009 by Fiona Lowry, the group provides care to clients around the UK.  The business is leading the way in supporting those with medical conditions including dementia, Parkinson’s, MS and Motor Neurone disease - helping to improve their wellbeing and overall quality of life. 

Jeremy Curnock Cook, Managing Director of BioScience Managers, comments on the BiA's latest financing figures.

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.