Manchester-based QV Bioelectronics a pioneering medical device startup developing the first-of-its-kind electric field therapy implant to treat the most common and aggressive type of brain tumours has recently bagged £735K in an oversubscribed seed funding round in order to advance the development of its innovative GRACE implant.
Oversubscribed funding round
The investment round attracted support from Consilience Ventures, SOSV, the GM & Cheshire Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures, and several angel investors. Consilience Ventures, a VC that takes a very different approach to funding and service support as an integral part of its business model – QV has established a long-term partner for growth with a network and knowledge base that aids the company at every stage of development.
SOSV is a global venture capital firm that operates early-stage start-up development programs. SOSV can provide multi-stage investment to develop and scale QV Bioelectronics while providing the founders with ongoing support and community. Catapult Ventures, one of the most experienced healthcare and life science VC investors in the UK, joins the round via the GM & Cheshire Life Sciences Fund.
Prior to this round, QV Bioelectronics had raised a combination of equity and grant funding over £350K, including pre-seed funding from SOSV and grants from Innovate UK and the National Institute for Health Research.
Commenting on the round, Dr Christopher Bullock (CEO) said: “This investment is a vote of confidence in QV Bioelectronics from sector-expert investors. The funds raised will fuel the next phase of development of the GRACE device, allowing the size of the QV Bioelectronics team to grow in the process. This will take our innovative electric field therapy technology a few steps closer towards the clinic.”
Vijay Curthan from Catapult Ventures said: “Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive cancers yet there have been precious few treatment innovations over the decades. We invested in QV because they bring together Manchester’s leadership position in advanced materials with the knowhow of some of the UK’s most pre-eminent neurosurgeons to reimagine the use of electric field therapy – a new modality to treat cancer – in a way that will turn the tide on this devastating disease.”
Development of GRACE implant
QV Bioelectronics was founded in 2018 by Christopher Bullock and Richard Fu. It is backed by an expert team of engineers and scientists who have been working closely with some of the UK’s leading neurosurgeons on the prototype design of the GRACE device. QV Bioelectronics is determined to deliver a longer and better-quality life for patients with a brain tumour.
It claims that the GRACE implant will provide a paradigm shift in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), the most common form of primary brain cancer in adults that has amongst the worst outcomes of any type of cancer. Using advanced materials, the technology underpinning the GRACE device is designed to significantly extend patient life expectancy without negatively affecting the patients’ quality of life. GRACE is still at an early stage of development, and it will be several years before the technology is ready to enter clinical trials.
Appoints new board of director
Besides the investment, QV welcomes Dr. Deepak Kotak of Consilience Ventures as one of its board of directors. Deepak Kotak added: “We are excited to be supporting QV Bioelectronics to advance an elegant and novel technology to help improve longevity and quality of life of GBM patients, an area of huge and longstanding unmet medical need.”
The post Manchester-based medical device startup lands £735K funding to treat brain tumours appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
