AMLo Biosciences, a medical device company spun out of Newcastle University specialising in the early detection of skin cancers, is pleased to announce it has secured significant further investment totalling £2.45 million.
DAVID CHALMERS
At present all early-stage melanomas are treated in a similar way, sometimes involving invasive surveillance diagnostics designed to identify the few high-risk melanomas at the expense of the many. AMBLor, AMLo’s “rule-out” prognostic test for early-stage skin cancer, can accurately identify genuinely low risk, early-stage melanomas, potentially relieving thousands of patients from the risks associated with surveillance techniques and significant anxiety.
The round, including new investment from Ascension’s Life Fund and Conduit’s EIS Impact Fund, and re-investment from NorthStar Ventures, Future Planet Capital’s BIF Opportunities Fund, Esperante, and several Angel Investors, highlights the continued confidence in the technology and leadership of the business.
AMLo’s CEO and co-founder, Dr Marie Labus said: “This funding allows AMLo to embark on the next step of our journey with the resources to potentially relieve countless people with early-stage melanoma from the anxiety and follow-up burden that should be reserved for those with higher risk disease. I am delighted to welcome several new investors, and especially to see such strong additional commitment from our previous partners. Our levelling up from an academic spin-out to a commercial success is critical to ensure we have the resources to further drive innovation in medical devices across our markets.”
The funding will facilitate the completion of essential clinical studies, providing the evidence required to gain inclusion in Clinical Guidelines in key markets and supporting the launch of AMBLor in the UK and US in 2022 and Australia in 2023.
Guy Pengelley, portfolio manager at Future Planet Capital, added: “Having first invested in AMLo in 2020, we have admired Dr. Labus and her team’s commitment to delivering long term returns while improving lives ever since. Already in this relatively short period, the firm has achieved significant milestones including scientific validation and a successful pilot launch in the UK. We look forward to supporting them during the next stage of their expansion as the company scales up to become a commercial success, with further launch in the UK & US imminent.”
