Imperial College fund makes six-figure investment into "promising" Parkinson's treatment

A new early-stage investment fund has completed its first investment with a six-figure cash injection for a medtech firm.

The Imperial College Innovations Fund (ICIF) has invested £205k into Charco Neurotech to support its development of a new device to manage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Co-founded by Lucy Jung, Charco Neurotech has developed a non-invasive vibrating device called CUE1 which aims to manage Parkinson’s symptoms externally through patterns of vibration to aid motor tasks, and has shown “promising” signs that it could be an effective treatment.

The investment from ICIF is part of a £500k seed round from investors, including Amadeus Capital Partners, Crista Galli, RCA and Oxbridge Angels, and will be used to launch CUE1 in the UK/EU market in early 2021.

Dr Brijesh Roy, seed investment manager at Imperial College London, commented: “Lucy and her team are just one great example of high-quality startups founded by Imperial’s staff, student and alumni community.

“Since launching ICIF in the summer, we have met hundreds of amazing founders and I am delighted that the first investment will go to support such an enthusiastic and capable team making such an impact in patients’ lives.

“Charco’s founders have engaged with Imperial’s entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout their startup journey and we are thrilled that the launch of ICIF with Parkwalk expands this support to include investment.”

Lucy Jung, CEO and co-founder of Charco Neurotech, added: “Having worked closely with Parkinson’s patients over the past few years, we believe that CUE1 has the potential to significantly improve their symptoms through its unique controlled vibration technology.

“We are excited to continue our work on the device and we look forward to the outcome of our proposed clinical trials.”