AMLo Biosciences Ltd (AMLo), an innovative medical device company spun out of Newcastle University specialising in the early detection of skin cancers, is pleased to announce it has secured significant further investment totalling £2.45m.
At present all early stage melanomas are treated in a similar way, sometimes involving invasive surveillance diagnostics designed to identify the few high-risk melanomas at the expense of the many. AMBLor®, AMLo’s “rule-out” prognostic test for early stage skin cancer, can accurately identify genuinely low risk, early-stage melanomas, potentially relieving thousands of patients from the risks associated with surveillance techniques and significant anxiety.
The round, including new investment from Ascension’s Life Fund and Conduit’s EIS Impact Fund, and re-investment from NorthStar Ventures, Future Planet Capital’s BIF Opportunities Fund, Esperante, and a number of Angel Investors, highlights the continued confidence in the technology and leadership of the business.
AMLo’s CEO and co-founder, Dr Marie Labus said: “This funding allows AMLo to embark on the next step of our journey with the resources to potentially relieve countless people with early stage melanoma from the anxiety and follow-up burden that should be reserved for those with higher risk disease. I am delighted to welcome several new investors, and especially to see such strong additional commitment from our previous partners. Our levelling up from an academic spin-out to a commercial success is critical to ensure we have the resources to further drive innovation in medical devices across our markets.”
The funding will facilitate the completion of essential clinical studies, providing the evidence required to gain inclusion in Clinical Guidelines in key markets and supporting the launch of AMBLor® in the UK and US in 2022 and Australia in 2023.
Guy Pengelley, Portfolio Manager at Future Planet Capital, commented: “Having first invested in AMLo in 2020, we have admired Dr. Labus and her team’s commitment to delivering long term returns while improving lives ever since. Already in this relatively short period, the firm has achieved significant milestones including scientific validation and a successful pilot launch in the UK. We look forward to supporting them during the next stage of their expansion as the company scales up to become a commercial success, with further launch in the UK & US imminent.”
Dr. Ala Alenazi - Investment Associate, Ascension Life Fund added: “We are extremely excited to back AMLo in their mission to help patients identify their risk of melanoma progression alongside Ascension’s Conduit EIS Impact Fund and other noteworthy investors. We are looking forward to the launch of AMBLor®️ later this year which will help identify the likelihood of the spread of melanoma at the earliest moment and potentially improve the lives of many."
Alex Buchan, Investment Director of the follow on investor, NorthStar said: “We have worked with AMLo since inception and have been consistently impressed by the quality of the technology and the expertise of the team. This investment gives the company the fuel to accelerate development and bring a valuable prognostic tool to market, meeting a real unmet need. Amlo is a great example of one of the growing number of female led businesses which are coming out of the region’s universities.”
Contact
Marie Labus, CEO AMLo: m.labus@amlo-biosciences.com
Jane Meaney, Marketing Director AMLo: j.meaney@amlo-biosciences.com