Health tech firm goes Forth with new funding
CHEPSTOW-BASED health tech firm Forth has secured a £1.6m equity investment to support its new pioneering female health product.
Its second investment round has attracted backing from a consortium of both UK and overseas investors including Trajan Scientific and Medical (Trajan) through its European subsidiary Trajan Scientific Europe.
Launched in 2016 Forth is one of the UK’s leading companies in personalised biomarker tracking. Starting with a small sample of blood, the company helps people to navigate their way to better health by providing clear scientific data about their body’s biochemistry, together with expert advice to help them improve.
It recently launched a product to help women gain better insight into their hormone fluctuations. Female
Hormone Mapping is the first product in the world to use AI to help map how a woman’s hormones fluctuate throughout their entire cycle, rather than a single day which is current clinical practice.
Founder and chief executive of Forth, Sarah Bolt, said: “Our mission at Forth is simple – to give people a better understanding of their own body using a combination of science and technology. This investment will enable us to launch female hormone mapping and also develop more unique and insightful products to help people engage proactively with their health. Trajan is a perfect partner as we share a focus on using science to advance preventative health while the Development Bank continues to support us as a Welsh-based company that is at the forefront of the femtech market.
“Today, more and more people are realising that understanding and measuring your body’s biochemistry is key for a long and healthy life. For women in particular, gaining unique insight into how their hormone levels fluctuate throughout their unique cycle can give women the support they have been lacking and help to close the gender health gap”.
Stephen Tomisich, chief executive and managing director of Trajan said: “We have known the founders and majority shareholders at Forth for some time. We share common values around delivering good science that helps people achieve better health outcomes. We are both intensely focussed on delivering impact and working together we believe we will do just that.”
The Development Bank of Wales has also supported Forth’s second round of funding with follow-on equity of £250,000 bringing its total investment to date to £500,000.
Senior investment executive Alexander Leigh said: “Sarah and the team have done incredibly well to secure a strong market position in a rapidly growing sector. The company is ranked by Trustpilot as the highest rated service in the sector and has all the drive and the skills to deliver on their vision.
“Our follow-on equity funding coupled with Trajan’s strategic investment will now give Forth unique access to cutting edge technologies as they develop their innovative product offering with Female Hormone Mapping. We‘re proud to be behind this great team and wish them every success.”
Forth reported revenue growth of over 100% in June 2020 compared to the previous year.