NW Fund commits extra £5m for biomedical

THE North West Fund has added a further £5m to the pot of money dedicated to investments in the biomedical sector.

The sub-fund, managed by SPARK Impact was down to its last £3m after making a series of investments worth £22m.

The European Union-backed North West Fund had £185m to invest in a range of sectors when it launched four years ago, and the money must be spent by the end of next year. A spokesman said the money had come from a pot of unallocated money, rather than one of the other sub-funds.

SPARK said it would use the cash to invest in new companies and top-up funding to those it has already supported. It said its work had attracted co-investments worth £11m and created more than 170 jobs.

Dr Andy Round, investment director at SPARK Impact, said: “The North West healthcare innovations scene is strong and since the fund became live in 2011 we have been impressed by the quality and potential of so many SMEs. With so many technologies ripe for investment, we’re delighted to receive the £5m top up funding from the North West Fund. These very technologies will be the lifeblood to delivering better healthcare in the UK and worldwide.”