Anglia Angels Invest £500k in Pioneering Cancer Treatment
Anglia Capital Group angels in partnership with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Low Carbon Innovation Fund have invested in Norfolk and Norwich Hospital’s first commercialised spinout, Ablatus Therapeutics. The investment round closed at £500,000 in May. The money will support development of the company’s product for treating cancer patients and ultimately saving lives.
The product is an advancement of the current radiofrequency ablation (RFA) used to “burn away” tumours and other dysfunctional tissue. In addition to AC current in the needle, the Ablatus’ technology, termed ‘Bimodal Electric Tissue Abalation’ (BETA), also uses DC current. This attracts moisture and reduces charring and dehydration and therefore recurrence, which was almost 50% with previous methods. BETA also improves the ablation zone size and has the potential to treat previously untreatable tumours, making this an innovative product with a real impact on society. The technique was developed at the Norwich and Norfolk Hospital which retains a significant equity stake in the business.
Struan McDougall, CEO of Anglia Capital Group, says “Anglia Capital Group is delighted to have had the opportunity to work with Health Enterprise East on the first spinout from the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Our members led the investment round because of the exciting potential for this technology in cancer surgery and were strongly supported by matching investment from our partner, the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.”
Anglia Capital Group, sister company to Cambridge Capital Group, is a membership of angel investors who invest in start-ups and small businesses in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Anglia Capital Group, the lead investors in this round, co-invested with their partners the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (New Anglia LEP) and the Low Carbon Innovation Fund in order to achieve the full £500,000 investment round.
Chris Dashper, Head of Programmes at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The New Anglia Capital fund was set up to kick-start new products and innovation and support high growth companies, and Ablatus meets its aims perfectly. This is an example of leading edge technology that’s being developed right here in the East, providing a breakthrough in cancer treatment with worldwide benefits, and we’re delighted to be part of it.”
