Exeter Med Tech Innovators Pitch for the Chance to Raise Funding to Save Lives
16 entrepreneurs were given the platform to realise their ambitions by exhibiting and pitching for significant investment to develop their innovative ideas and push them out to a wider market.
The merging of the pioneering medical and tech industries has created a wealth of opportunities, which is something the inaugural Med Tech Investment Showcase explored yesterday (02 March) in London.
Healthcare innovators have the power to improve and save lives by developing products such as prosthetic limbs and wearables for conditions such as respiratory attacks and hip fractures.
Taking these innovations to the next level by securing funding is a fundamental requirement for success. This is the aim of Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and SETsquared, who have joined forces along with the South West AHSN, West of England AHSN and Kent, Surrey and Sussex AHSN, to help entrepreneurs change lives for the better by holding this showcase event.
The ingenuity of these innovators means there is now a range of products and designs that will positively impact on an individual’s quality of life – and in some cases could even save them.
The Exeter start-up that pitched at the showcase was Custodian Solutions, which has created a unique cloud-based anti-counterfeiting platform to allow customers to protect their own brands, and increase civil and criminal enforcement.
Custodian Solutions pitched to 100 angel, venture capital and corporate investors at the showcase led by Wessex AHSN, with global leading university incubator SETsquared.
Nicola Blackwood, Minister for Public Health and Innovation said: “It’s fantastic to see Wessex AHSN and others playing such a proactive role in identifying and supporting the type of innovations that can deliver tangible improvements in productivity and patient outcomes.
The event illustrates exactly why we see AHSNs as such a crucial part of the system in driving innovation throughout the DNA of the NHS – ensuring that patients and health and care services benefit from the latest advances in medical science.’’
Suzy Taylor from the SW AHSN’s Innovation team, said: “As an AHSN, our remit is to make the regional health and care system better, and the use of new technology plays a major role in doing this. The Med Tech Showcase provided an opportunity for us to identify the most appropriate technologies for use in our health and care system whilst contributing to UK economic growth. The Showcase was an example of how organisations like AHSNs and SETsquared can collaborate to support both SMEs and patients.
Daniel Jones, of online investment platform SyndicateRoom, said: “The start-up companies I saw exhibiting and pitching were very innovative. The technologies have a huge range of applications outside of the med tech sector as well, and are addressing large markets – which makes them very interesting.
“It’s also such a great opportunity for these companies to pitch to such a wide variety of investors.”
The investors were specifically looking for products and services that can save the NHS money while also offering a broad commercial appeal – with excellent prospects to make a financial return.
