Oxford’s Electrospinning Company secures major investment

Oxford-based The Electrospinning Company has received £1.5 million funding led by London-based venture capital firm Downing Ventures

The business uses electrospinning to design and manufacture biomaterials, made from synthetic polymers that are implanted into the human body providing help for a range of medical procedures.

Sensyne Health welcomes report on value of healthcare data

Oxford-based healthcare technology company Sensyne Health has welcomed a new report from professional services firm EY that estimates that curated NHS data could generate as much as £5 billion per annum while delivering around £4.6 billion of benefit to patients. This is through operational savings for the NHS, enhanced patient outcomes, personalised medicine and wider benefits to the UK economy from ‘big data’ use.

Oxfordshire has long been a magnet for those looking for a successful career in science and technology, but like every other region, it has to fight for the skilled and talented people needed by the county’s companies operating in this sector to thrive, added Sarah.

“We know that people like coming to work in Oxfordshire because of the quality of the jobs and because they want to participate in this innovation-rich ecosystem, but every company has rapidly-changing needs,” said Sarah.

Over the course of the next few months, Advanced Oxford will be analysing the key skills needs of its members and what their anticipated needs will be over the next two to five years.

Driving skills and talent into Oxfordshire

Life Sciences

“We will look at issues including the effective use of apprenticeships and the extent to which that can help the pipeline of skills. We will continue to call for the right infrastructure and housing investment, because if we want to grow the economic and innovation base we need to know that there will be enough homes for people to live in and the roads and transport infrastructure for them move around Oxfordshire effectively.”

And Brexit also has its challenges. “In life sciences in particular, the labour market has always been global in nature, particularly in the more specialist roles. Whatever happens, we do need to ensure we have an effective labour market and a migration system that works and continues to allow us to bring in the right skills and the brightest and best from around the world.

“The government’s announcement in September that it is allowing students to stay on to work after graduation has been well received by the scientific community. The UK needs to continue to see similar policies which recognise talent.”

The report suggests a framework for the NHS to harness patient data in an ethical manner, demonstrating its high value to the healthcare ecosystem, and places the UK at the forefront of global healthcare innovation.

Lord Paul Drayson, Chief Executive Officer at Sensyne Health, said: “Data driven innovation will transform how healthcare is delivered in future. The quality and scale of NHS data, covering a population of more than 50 million people from birth to death, provides the UK with a major competitive advantage and is a very valuable national asset. Enlightened policy that encourages ethical and fair collaborations between the NHS and the life sciences industry that use NHS data could help fund NHS services in future, as well as significantly improving the quality and affordability of care for patients.”

MoA Technology awarded funding to develop herbicide platforms

MoA Technology has secured funding of £6.3 million to develop its unique in vivo herbicide discovery platforms. The company was spun-out from Oxford University’s Plant Sciences Department after ground-breaking research by co-founders Professor Liam Dolan and Dr Clément Champion. It aims to provide farmers with a choice of innovative technologies for weed control.

The funding round was co-led by Oxford Sciences Innovation, the world’s largest university venture fund, and Parkwalk Advisors, the largest enterprise investment scheme growth fund manager focused on university spinouts.

Hadyn Parry, Chairman of MoA Technology, said: “Weeds are now a greater threat to crop yields than at any time in recent decades. New solutions are urgently needed. Raising £6 million at this stage in the company’s development is testament to the strength of the company’s prospects.”

MoA Technology plans to move new active ingredients towards development and work with partners to make them available to farmers worldwide.