The London-based healthcare start-up Medopad made headlines last month with plans for a $120m fund-raising, one of the largest ever Series A rounds for a British company – and having raised $28m already, the firm looks to have a good chance of hitting its target. But Medopad is no flash in the pan – it’s just one example of many British medical or healthcare businesses that are growing fast and turning investors’ heads on a global scale.
The UK’s reputation as a leading centre for medical technology and related disciplines is partly based on its strong academic leadership, with clusters of start-ups having developed around centres such as the university towns of Cambridge and Oxford. Some of those businesses have enormous potential – here are four of the most exciting ventures to keep an eye on in 2018.
Findoc enables people to find their nearest healthcare professionals, including GPs, physiotherapists, dentists and others, to read patient reviews, and to book an appointment directly – unlike other services, which still require people to book through intermediaries or administrators.
Currently London-focused, Findoc has plans to expand its coverage to other UK cities, and has already secured the services of 5,000 private health professionals. The company says the number of bookings it’s involved in is doubling every month.
Nor is the business limiting its ambitions to the private sector – the NHS will be trialling FinDoc at a number of London GP practices in April.
Founder and CEO Xavier Bernal launched the business after months of walking round London knocking on the doors of private medical practices. Findoc raised £1.2m of investment at the end of last year.
Cambridge-based Cydar produces software that enables surgeons doing keyhole surgery to operate using live 3D images of the patient.
Historically, the quality of the images surgeons have had access to has been poor; by contrast, Cydar’s software matches CT scans and X-rays to form a live, 3D image, which in turn gives a much better and accurate picture to the surgeon.
The result is that patients suffer fewer complications and need fewer X-rays. Meanwhile, hospitals have a more predictable scheduling program and fewer over-runs, enabling them to operate more efficiently. Founded by consultant vascular surgeon Tom Carrell, Cydar’s technology is already in use in the NHS, as well as in North America.
Bristol-based Open Bionics is a start-up that promises to revolutionise the field of prostheses by creating hi-tech affordable 3D printed prosthetics, including bionic hands. The company’s products cost a fraction of those produced by rivals and operate by sensors that are attached to the skin to detect muscle movements. These movements control the hand and open and close fingers.
The business is already working with the NHS, which spends tens of millions of pounds a year on prosthetic services, with Open Bionics' involvement including participation in clinical trials of a new prosthetic for children.
Founder Joel Gibbard began tinkering with robotic hands in his bedroom when he was only 17, building his first prototype as a 'back-up', in case he ever lost one of his own hands.
Another Cambridge-based company, Inviata has developed an early stage blood test for cancer - it’s a cheaper, less invasive and highly sensitive method for oncologists to diagnose and monitor cancer progression and treatment.
The company is already working internationally with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has set up a second research lab in North Carolina.
Currently focusing on the US as its first market, Inviata also has plans to commercialise in the UK and the EU. It raised more than £30m in a fund-raising round two years ago.
