Patient tech outfit secures £1.2m R&D fund injection
● Glasgow-based Metix also expects to raise headcount ● Funding from Deepbridge and Scottish Enterprise
A Glasgow-based company specialising in patient monitoring technology has secured a £1.2 million financial injection.
Metix said yesterday that the initial research and development (R&D) funding round had been led by UK technology and life sciences investor Deepbridge Capital. It also includes money from Scottish Enterprise and its investment arm, the Scottish Investment Bank.
Metix was founded in 2013 to develop lightweight vital sign monitors for use in the pre-hospital care environment. Its core products provide monitoring that can be used by paramedic, military and humanitarian workers.
The firm operates internationally, having two offices – in Glasgow and London – and a sub-assembly facility in Mexico. Its research is supported by some of the largest medical grade sensing companies in the world.
The funding will be directed towards further research and development as well as “enhancing regulatory compliance”. Metix also expects to increase its headcount in Glasgow with greater numbers particularly in technical and clinical validation.
Julio Guerrero, managing director at Metix, said: “We are pleased to have received this initial R&D funding and are delighted to have the support of Deepbridge, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Investment Bank.
“This support demonstrates that the technology we are developing, and have already developed, is not only a good idea but is a commercially viable proposition which can make a real difference.
“Globally, pre-hospital critical care tech is at best patchy and at worst is non-existent. We are committed to providing the technology to ensure that emergency responders anywhere in the world can have access to affordable, mobile and multi-parameter technology, which can be crucial in saving life and ensuring optimum care.”
Savvas Neophytou, head of life sciences at Deepbridge, added: “Metix is further developing a device which has the potential to dramatically change the pre-hospital care sector.
“As always, we have to consider the medium-long term investment returns for our investors and to this end, we believe that Metix exhibits all the qualities associated with a successful company in the medical technology sector.”
Deepbridge operates across four key divisions – disruptive tech, life sciences, renewables and sustainable technologies. Turbine components repair company ATL Turbine Services has flagged “dramatic improve ments” in growth and financial performance for the current business year. The Dundee-based firm is expected to announce year-on-year growth in turnover of around 35 per cent to more than £5 million. Following a downturn in business in 2015 driven by the decommissioning of the RAF Tornado fighter jet, the firm – headed by CEO Kerr Picken – has made a significant recovery.