Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital spin-out Ablatus Therapeutics has been shortlisted for the esteemed UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) Angel Investment Awards. The awards will celebrate 2018’s high-growth entrepreneur success stories and the investors behind them and will be presented at a glittering ceremony on 19th June, in Liverpool Cathedral.
Ablation uses heat generated by electric currents to destroy cancerous tissue. However, current ablation techniques are limited to small tumors, as charring occurs after fairly short applications. The Bimodal Electric Tissue Ablation (BETA) technique, which Dr. Brookes and his team are developing, overcomes this charring effect and is designed to enable prolonged treatment of larger tumors.
Delivering the news to Dr. David Brookes the Chief Executive of Ablatus the UKBAA’s Carly Hearn said: “Congratulations, Ablatus Therapeutics, nominated by Anglia Capital Group, has been shortlisted for the Best Investment in MedTech 2018. We have been inundated with an extremely high standard of entries and Ablatus was deemed one of the best, which is a great achievement.”
David Brookes CEO of Ablatus said: Being shortlisted for the Best Medtech Investment of 2018 is a great honour and a recognition of the Company’s technology, BETA Ablation, to deliver new potential treatment options for patients. Our success would not have been possible without the support of Anglia Capital Group, the New Anglia LEP, Low Carbon Innovation Fund, Health Enterprise East, the NNUH and in particular Innovate UK who have provided grant funding for our product development programme.”
The early private capital from angel investors was supported by a £200,000 co-investment from New Anglia Capital, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s co-investment fund. Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia LEP, said: “It is great to see Ablatus nominated for this award. New Anglia Capital is dedicated to nurturing exciting, innovative new businesses and helping them grow and achieve their potential. That’s good for high-value job creation and economic growth in Norfolk and Suffolk – but it also brings new products to market sooner for the benefit of us all, and the medtech products from Ablatus are an excellent example of that.”
Anglia Capital Group’s Business Manager, Hannah Smith, said: ”We are delighted for David and the team at Ablatus. There are a very large number of MedTech companies for UKBAA to chose from, so this makes it all the more impressive that Ablatus has made the shortlist. Ablatus was the very first medtech company in which ACG members invested, so it is particularly pleasing to see recognition at the national level.”
Dr Ian Gibson, who invested in Ablatus as an ACG member said: “This is brilliant news. As an ex-MP and chair of the Select Committee on Science and Technology and an original supporter and originator of the Parliamentary All-party Group on cancer let me say this. New treatments for cancer are occurring almost by the month. Trials of this new treatment sponsored by Ablatus are looking very attractive for lung cancer and I feel very excited.”
