£650,000 Funding Round to Help Secure Market Position

STFC spin-out, The Electrospinning Company Ltd (TECL) has secured a 650,000 investment to establish itself as a leading provider of clinical-grade electrospun biomaterials to the medical device industry.

Electrospun nanofibre membranes can be designed to help the body repair and regenerate its own tissues; however, until recently, quality control issues relating to a lack of consistent and scalable manufacturing methods have hindered their clinical use. The company has been able to overcome these challenges and as of 2016, the Company has been supplying clinical-grade electrospun material into the first FDA-approved medical device including such materials and into a Phase I clinical trial for corneal repair in India.

The company is also building a portfolio of contract development projects with regenerative medical device customers. The investment will enable the company to build its production capacity, quality systems and business development, with a focus on growing its presence in the key US market.

TECL was the first company to join the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre at the Harwell Campus (ESA BIC Harwell) when it first opened in 2010. Set up to help start-ups with brilliant ideas using space technology to address the really significant challenges facing our society, the incubator enable the company to refine its cutting edge technology that combined equipment originally designed for use in space programmes with the electrospinning process.

The funding came from a network of UK angel investors, including Angels 5K, LBA, Minerva, Wroxall, Angels in MedCity and OION, as well as from the Rainbow Seed Fund. Ann Kramer, CEO of The Electrospinning Company, commented “We have made significant progress over the past year and, thanks to the support of angel and venture networks, are well-positioned to grow as the use of novel materials in medical devices increases.”