Entia, a medical technology business, which recently announced a commercial partnership with Pfizer UK, raised $12 million earlier in the year in a funding round led by UK growth capital investor BGF, with participation from existing seed investors, including Parkwalk and Sussex Place Ventures.
The company will use the funds to launch Entia Liberty, a virtual oncology solution that allows patients to perform their own blood tests at home so remote healthcare teams can monitor and help manage the haematological toxicity of cancer treatment. Over 50% of systemic anti-cancer therapies cause haematological toxicity, management of which accounts for 8% of all cancer treatment costs and leads to frequent and disruptive healthcare visits for patients.
“Our approach at Entia is to empower patients with greater freedom whilst also equipping healthcare professionals with the insights to make more informed and personalised clinical decisions.” said founder and CEO, Dr Toby Basey-Fisher. “This funding will enable us to put Liberty in the hands of patients and prepare to meet growing international demand for our solution”.
Zahir Kasmani, investor at BGF, said: “We’re delighted to be making another investment in the UK’s pioneering and thriving healthcare sector, having recently broken the £100 million investment figure in life sciences businesses. Toby and the team have built a fantastic business with technology that is proven and already performing well in the market, providing efficient and accessible solutions for problems facing patients, clinicians, healthcare providers and insurers. Their ambition for future growth is really amazing and we’re excited to be part of the journey.”
Since founding the company in 2015, Entia has built partnerships with leading healthcare institutions such as The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, to pioneer the introduction of new remote care solutions.
Moving healthcare services into the home has become a strategic priority not only for health systems but also pharmaceutical companies. Pfizer UK recently announced its partnership with Entia in which it has committed to make Entia’s virtual monitoring service available in the UK for metastatic breast cancer patients in 2022, following regulatory approval.
At the heart of Entia’s Liberty service is ablood analyser that allows patients to perform a suite of blood tests in their own home. It is initially launching with the capability to help monitor haematological toxicity via a patient’s full blood count. Results are seamlessly shared with healthcare professionals via Entia’s cloud network and integration tools. This approach creates new insights into how individuals are responding to care and subsequently may enable more personalised decisions to mitigate life-threatening complications.
Prior to this new investment, Entia has raised over $13 million to date, including major investment from Innovate UK as part of its Biomedical Catalyst programme.
*Entia Liberty is at late stage development, pending regulatory approval and not currently available for sale.
