Member Article

Blood technology pioneers receive £1.4m funding

Nottingham-based biopharmaceutical firm Haemostatix has received £1.4m of funding to develop its blood technology.

The funding from Wellcome Trust coincides with a further £800,000 investment from a consortium of investors and funders, including Albion Ventures, Catapult Venture Managers, Spark Ventures, Esperante, Nesta, the Lachesis Fund, The University of Leicester and private share-holders.

The funding will facilitate clinical trials of the firm’s “PeproStat” technology which controls bleeding by binding to a blood protein to form a clot. It is a haemostat, a tool used by surgeons to manage problematic bleeding and to reduce time in the operating theatre during surgery.

Haemostatix originally spun out of the University of Leicester, and is based now at BioCity in Nottingham, within the city’s new Creative Quarter.

Dr Ben Nichols, CEO of Haemostatix, commented: “There is a real need for rapid acting, ready-to-use haemostats that are safe and cost-effective, and we believe our technology can deliver these benefits to surgeons and their patients. This Award and the share-holder investment, will enable us to generate more data to support the translation process from research to patients.”

Dr Richard Seabrook, Head of Business Development at the Wellcome Trust, added: “Improved control of bleeding is vital for safe and effective surgical procedures. We are pleased to offer our continued support to this project and look forward to seeing the technology advance towards clinical use.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .