Award winning, social enterprise Memory Matters CIC, which runs the Moments Café in the heart of Plymouth, has received investment of £100,000 to franchise its innovative training package enabling it to be delivered to more people.  The investment came from the Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (South West) (H&WCF), managed by social impact investment company Resonance.

Angel-backed company PBD Biotech has had its novel Actiphage® testing technology named as the winner of the Royal Dairy Innovation Award at Dairy-Tech 2019.

The Royal Dairy Innovation trophy and certificate are awarded for research and development in the field of dairy farming. With the award going to the most practical, relevant product, which is likely to be the most significant innovation for the future of dairying.

Innovative biometric tracking service, Forth, which helps people to navigate their way to better health using simply at-home finger-prick blood tests, has secured new investment from its first institutional investor.  The new investment came from The Development Bank of Wales, together with a group of angels from Angels Invest Wales and South West based angel investors, including Craig Gulliford, CEO of Creo Medical.

Gulliford, who was an early investor in the company during its first raise on Crowdcube in 2017 and has since joined the board, said: “I have an affinity for technology-based companies that have an innovative and disruptive proposition backed by great people. Forth ticks this box and the management team crucially also have the energy, passion, determination to succeed at all costs”.

Last July, Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies raised $10m in equity finance. This was a significant moment in the UK’s investment scene, representing the first equity investment into a medicinal marijuana startup in nearly two decades (since GW Pharmaceuticals listed on the AIM in 2001).

Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging, a global specialist in advanced diagnostics for equine and companion animals, has successfully completed a management buyout led by mid market private equity firm August Equity. As a result of the deal, NPI Investors as well as the LBA EIS Tracker Fund 4 have made a greater than 5x return on their investment.

Resonance, a social impact investment company, with a head office in Cornwall, worked with Smile Together as advisers on the investment raise.

BII, the social investment arm of The Big Issue, provided investment to Smile Together CIC, a local employee-owned social enterprise and Community Interest Company, in late 2018. The investment is helping to finance the refurbishment of a former grammar school into a purpose-built dental centre for the community.

The opening of the centre, located on Harleigh Road in Bodmin Cornwall, will increase access to emergency, specialist and routine dental care, provide enhanced access and facilities for all patient groups, and also increase the availability of preventative support, education and treatment programmes. An adjoining part of the building will eventually house other local businesses, promoting further financial sustainability for Smile Together.

Foresight Group has made a £1.25 million growth capital investment into Fertility Focus Limited, a leading fertility monitoring technology company that has developed OvuSense, a registered medical device that enables women to predict ovulation.  The investment was led by Foresight on behalf of Foresight VCT plc and Foresight 4 VCT plc as part of a larger £2 million funding round, supported by new and existing investors including private High Net-Worth Individuals.

Chronomics, a pioneering company in health-tech innovation, has just launched the world’s first consumer epigenetic testing kit. Chronomics has successfully secured more than £1.12 million in funding, including significant investment from venture capital firm Anthemis, and follow on funding from SOSV, one of the world’s most active early stage biotech investors.

The four founders of Chronomics are leading in their respective fields. Dr Tom Stubbs and Daniel Herranz worked at the forefront of epigenetics research at the University of Cambridge, where they collaborated with Dr Toby Call, a Bioenergy and Industrial Biotechnology expert, to define the first models. The team brought on board Charles Ball whose extensive commercial experience has helped to explain the intricacies of epigenetic science to the public.

Foresight Group has invested £1.5 million from the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund into Open Bionics Limited.

The investment has been made alongside an identical commitment from Downing LLP and Ananda Impact Ventures of £1.5m each and Rathbone Nominees to complete the £4.66m round.

Open Bionics is an award-winning designer, manufacturer and supplier of bionic limbs with ambitions to become a market leader in a range of bespoke prostheses and assistive technologies and a global supplier of prosthetic and orthotic products and services.  Based in Bristol, the Company was founded just four years ago by CEO Joel Gibbard and COO Samantha Payne, since when the team has grown to 23

Lein Applied Diagnostics, a company that specialises in innovative and precise optical technology, have closed their latest funding round, receiving investment from two members of Henley Business Angels. This is the second time that Lein have gone through Henley Business Angels for funding, having previously raised a total of £440,000 back in 2017.

Healthcare venture investment in the U.S. and Europe reached a new high in 2018, according to Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and their investors. Investment totals in 2018 grew more than 50 percent over 2017, with the activity due in large part to record Series A investments in U.S. biopharma companies.

An innovative treatment for those suffering from the effects of a debilitating medical condition is now a step closer after a significant investment from NorthInvest.

Created by doctors who work on the front line, the technology developed by Renephra helps patients dealing with chronic fluid overload including Lymphoedema – a condition which affects 200 thousand people across the UK.

The treatment aims to improve a patient’s quality of life, allowing them to spend more time with friends, family and loved ones. Treatment which would normally take place in a hospital setting will now be able to be administered at home.