WITNEY PPE MANUFACTURER INCREASES PRODUCTION WITH HSBC SUPPORT

An Oxfordshire manufacturer of ‘above the neck’ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), JSP, has secured a seven-figure finance facility from HSBC UK.

The funding will support capital equipment investment to increase production capacity in its UK and Germany factories and support growth at other overseas operations in its main international markets in Europe, USA, UAE, Asia Pacific and China.

The finance will also help fund future product innovation and development.

JSP has seen a sharp increase in demand for its PPE and Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In response, it has restructured its healthcare division to meet a growing demand from new and existing UK and international customers.

The second-generation family business, which supplies disposable and reusable masks, powered air purifying respirators and faceshields, has been instrumental in supplying products to more than 120 NHS Trusts in England.

Oxford medical products company raises £1.2 million for weight loss tech

Oxford Medical Products has raised £1.2 million in seed investment to develop a safe and affordable weight loss capsule, which uses the same mechanism of action as a gastric balloon, but can be taken at home.

The funding will be used to complete pre-clinical testing, upscale and outsource manufacturing and grow the team. The funding was led by Ada Ventures with Selvedge Venture alongside angel investors including Dr Nick Edwards, a founder of the company, and Dr Jan Hruska, co-founder of Sophos.

Oxford Medical Products’s non-surgical weight loss technology Sirona, is a selfexpanding hydrogel capsule that once swallowed expands in the stomach and occupies space.

While it is designed to work in the same way as a gastric balloon, which has to be placed endoscopically in a hospital, Sirona can be used at home.

The capsules stay in the stomach and are effective 24/7, lasting several weeks before breaking down gradually and passing naturally over time.