Currently, anaesthetic gas used by hospitals is vented out into the atmosphere, which is an unaddressed cause of air pollution. As per reports, the anaesthetic gas used by a mid-sized hospital has the same environmental impact as 1,200 cars each year. It is claimed that the NHS produces 5.4% of all the greenhouse gases in the UK, as over 95% of all the anaesthetic gas used is disposed of into the atmosphere.
UK-based anaesthetic gas recycling technology firm SageTech Medical Equipment has been developing a technology to address this issue. In a recent development, the company has completed a £2.9 million pre-series A investment, which includes a £1.6 million investment from specialist venture capitalist EMV Capital. Also, EMV Capital’s parent company NetScientific PLC purchased £200k of shares, thereby demonstrating its commitment to SageTech.
Eyes to complete pilots in UK
The investment round is part of a fundraising strategy to complete pilots that are underway within UK hospitals. It will also be used to scale up commercial operations to meet demonstrated global demand for their technology platform. The investment will also be used for the further development towards market authorisation for SageTech’s recycled anaesthetic product.
This investment follows a successful first close alongside existing investors in November 2020. Since the first close of this investment round, John Clarkson (Chairman of NetScientific PLC, EMV Capital’s parent company) has joined the board of SageTech, bringing his wealth of commercial expertise to the next stage of the company’s growth.
John Clarkson commented, “The last year has proven the need for SageTech’s technology. As the UK and many other countries focus on achieving net zero by 2050, the case for anaesthetic gas recycling is only going to get stronger. For 95% of all anaesthetic gas to be wasted is something that simply must change. SageTech is well-positioned to be at the forefront of that change. This funding round is going to power SageTech’s scaleup and it’s hugely exciting for NetScientific PLC and EMV Capital to be part of that.”
Commenting on this investment round, Iain Menneer, SageTech CEO said, “The successful close of the pre-Series A round is further endorsement of SageTech Medical’s innovative technology and business proposition. Recent fundraising gives the company the resources to complete development and final clinical testing with UK hospitals before launching our anaesthetic waste capture solution later this year. We have also attracted talented and committed individuals to complement the SageTech team.”
Anaesthetic gas recycling tech
Established by Seb Brown and Mark Rushworth in 2015, SageTech’s flexible, low-capex, modular anaesthetic recycling system allows hospitals to capture waste anaesthetic gas exhaled by patients in absorbent, reusable canisters in the operating theatre. These canisters are emptied, and the gas stored in bulk tanks which is collected by SageTech. Currently, the company is developing technology, which will allow this gas to be recycled, purified and sold commercially.
SageTech allows hospitals to use anaesthetic gas in areas that do not have access to fixed Anaesthetic Gas Scavenging Systems. These systems that collect the gases are built into a hospital’s infrastructure when it is constructed. This helps hospitals that have not been able to expand operating theatre and intensive care capacity easily during the COVID-19 pandemic. SageTech systems let these hospitals use ‘temporary’ operating theatres.
The post UK-based SageTech picks £2.9M for innovation in anaesthesia appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
