Angel CoFund leads funding into Albert Medical Devices

Medical technology company Albert Medical Devices has secured funding led by the Angel CoFund. Existing investors North West Fund for Biomedical (managed by SPARK Impact) and the London Business Angels also participated in the round.

PRESS RELEASE

Albert Medical Devices (AMD), the award-winning medical technology company, has today announced they have received £940,000 in funding. The investment was supported by the Angel CoFund, the £100m Government and British-Business-Bank-backed fund, alongside existing investors North West Fund for Biomedical (managed by SPARK Impact) and the London Business Angels.

This is the third round of funding for the Liverpool-based med-tech company, who in April 2012 successfully raised a seed round of £300k from SPARK Impact’s North West Fund for Biomedical (the fund having collectively invested £680,000). This initial funding was used to further develop the company’s flagship product, the melio leg bag. The melio is the world’s first intelligent catheter leg bag, complete with electronic urine level sensor, discrete patient warning system and control panel. The melio has been a great success with medical and care professionals, as well as patients, and this latest funding will be used to launch the product fully into key healthcare markets whilst also allowing for next generation product development.

Dr Matt Pearce, CEO of AMD, said of this latest funding round: “Since our last funding round in 2012 the team at AMD has been investing time and money on product development, with the goal of reducing the end cost for the user. We’ve also focused on building our commercial and marketing teams. The melio bag has been incredibly well received by professionals in the urology sector and we look forward to using this funding to reach more patients and to greatly improve the lives of those with urinary incontinence.”

Tim Mills, Investment Director at the Angel CoFund, also commented: “We have been greatly impressed by the dedication of the team at Albert Medical Devices, not to mention the passion behind the development of the melio leg bag. The Angel CoFund is all about working with angels to get cash to the best of British businesses, helping them realise their potential and grow to the next stage – AMD fits the bill perfectly. The company has developed a potentially life changing product which offers significant enhancement to health outcomes and gives patients a better quality of life. We look forward to supporting Matt and his team as they continue to develop their range of world-class med-tech products.”

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About Albert Medical Devices
Albert Medical Devices is an award-winning medical technology company based in the UK, creating easy-to-use, high quality devices for the urology sector, to improve patient care and quality of life.

The founder of Albert Medical Devices, Trevor Wills, developed the concept of the leg bag with an electrical pump after his father suffered a severe stroke, which left him incontinent. Trevor, as an inventor, designed the ‘melio’ leg bag to improve his father’s quality of life.

http://www.albertmedicaldevices.com

About Angel CoFund
Launched in 2011, the Angel CoFund is a privately run fund that works alongside groups of business angels to invest in high growth small and medium sized businesses across the UK, directly providing funding as well as encouraging the expansion of the business angel market.

Backed by the British Business Bank and the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, the £100m Angel CoFund is able to make initial investments of between £100,000 and £1 million into businesses, alongside syndicates of business angels.

To date the fund has supported more than 40 companies (for example Yplan, PlayJam and Micrima) providing over £17 million in direct investment alongside £65 million from business angels and other investors.

www.angelcofund.co.uk

About the North West Fund for Biomedical and SPARK Impact
The £25m North West Fund for Biomedical, managed by SPARK Impact, is a sub-fund of The North West Fund, which is provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to supply equity funding to small and medium sized enterprises in the North West of England.

The North West Fund for Biomedical, which was launched in February 2011, is accessible to a broad range of companies including those developing pharmaceuticals, new diagnostics and medical devices, and those working in the fields of clinical research, contract manufacturing and analytical services. It is open to companies based in, or prepared to relocate to, the North West of England, with 40% of the fund to be invested on Merseyside. It is expected that the fund will invest in over 50 businesses. It has already received over 200 applications and made over 30 investments to date.

SPARK Impact
Belinda Armstrong, belinda@sparkimpact.co.uk
0151 705 3416

The North West Fund
Lizzie Dibble, lizzie.dibble@thenorthwestfund.co.uk, 01925 443 767

About LBA
LBA is one of the most experienced private angel networks in the UK. Since the early 1980s the network has been connecting innovating fast growth small and medium sized enterprises with investment through our network of business angel investors. LBA, part of Angel Capital Group, is professionally managed by a highly experienced management team, leveraging over 20 years’ experience in the early stage investment marketplace as established leaders in the development of new angel-led early stage investment initiatives, and nearly 30 years’ investing experience through the LBA network. LBA is a founding member of the UK Business Angels Association, the industry’s best practice trade association, and is also a member of EBAN, the European Business Angels Network.