May 3, 2018
MediSieve Granted £150k for First-in-Man Clinical Trial
Award-winning medical technology company MediSieve have been awarded a grant worth £150,000 by the National Institute of Health Research.
LONDON – May 03, 2018 – Award-winning medical technology company MediSieve have been awarded a grant worth £150,000 by the National Institute of Health Research, in order to perform the first clinical studies of their magnetic blood filtration device.
The medical device company, best known for their development of a magnetic drug-free Malaria treatment, is working to develop treatments for a number of other blood-borne diseases, including Sepsis and Leukaemia. This award has come as part of the i4i Connect scheme, developed as part of the UK Government's Accelerated Access Programme, helping to connect promising medical research with funding. Worth a total of £150,000 over a twelve-month period, the award will enable MediSieve to perform the very first human testing of the device at a hospital in London, in order to validate the safety of the procedure. It is a potential precursor to a larger grant after the progress of the research has been assessed, with more follow-on funding a possibility to help accelerate MediSieve up their development pathway.
George Frodsham, founder and CEO of MediSieve, said: "It's absolutely fantastic to be awarded this grant from the NIHR, which will provide £150,000 of invaluable funding crucial to our work. First-in-man clinical studies are a huge milestone for any new medical technology, and we’re really excited to be able to take this step and move closer to our goal of providing doctor’s with a tool with which to clean blood and treat all sorts of blood-borne diseases”.
Martin Hunt, NIHR i4i Programme Director, said: "SMEs have told us that there is a gap in funding both in the early stage of development and for completed projects that do not have all the data to effectively access the follow-on funding marketplace. i4i Connect will support teams through either of these stages of development with a fast turnaround of funding - vital for SMEs needing to maintain momentum."
MediSieve’s device utilises a revolutionary approach to fighting disease. In malaria, magnets are used to filter malaria infected cells directly from a patient’s blood, by exploiting the cells’ naturally occurring magnetic properties, before the clean blood re-enters their systems. Crucially, this technique is impervious to resistant strains of the disease, as it is drug-free - combatting another potentially devastating problem in the future. The company is also currently developing magnetic particles which bind to specific targets in the bloodstream, enabling its magnetic blood filtration technology to be expanded to treat a far greater range of diseases. The award comes on the back of an excellent run for MediSieve, having been awarded CMS Healthcare Startup of the Year Award 2017 in the Beanstalks competition, which rewards entrepreneurialism and innovation in the medical industry. The growth of the business has also continued with the appointment of William Twigger as Product Engineer, allowing development to expand and grow the MediSieve device
About Magnetic Blood Filtration
MediSieve's Magnetic Blood Filtration Platform is intended to enable the rapid and specific depletion of specific agents from the bloodstream of patients. The extracorporeal therapy uses therapeutic Magnetic Beads that are designed to bind specifically to the clinical target. The Beads are introduced into the extracorporeal circuit during the therapy, mixing with the patient’s blood and binding to the clinical targets. The Delivery Platform captures all the Magnetic Beads and bound targets, preventing their return to the patient.
About MediSieve
MediSieve is a London-based BioTech start-up that has developed Magnetic Blood Filtration, a revolutionary platform therapy that enables the physical removal of specific substances from the bloodstream of patients. It can be used (1) as a direct treatment, (2) to increase the safety and efficacy of other therapies, or (3) to enable personalised medicine. The company is a spin-off from University College London and is developing its products at the White City Innovation District in West London. MediSieve is actively seeking investment and partnerships.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Alina Kagermazova
INVESTOR AND PARTNERSHIP CONTACT:
George Frodsham
