Medtech secures vital investment for new surgical aid

A MIDLAND medtech business is set for growth after securing vital investment support for its new product.

Cipher Surgical, based at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Venture Centre in Coventry has developed a pioneering invention designed to improve stomach surgery.

Andrew Newell, managing director of the firm, said OpClear, which has attracted more than £1m of investment, allows a surgeon to clear the camera at the end of a laparoscope without removing it during the operation, thus saving vital time for the patient.

Around £100,000 of the investment came from the University of Warwick Science Park’s Minerva Business Angel Network, with a further £125,000 from Midven, the West Midlands specialist venture capital company.

Mr Newell said: “Angel investment is vitally important to start-up businesses like ours as other sources of funding are simply not available anymore.

“This investment will allow us to market the product to the global medical industry and we hope to have it fully launched by 2014.”

Cipher Surgical employs five people and moved to the University of Warwick Science Park in January under the Ignite programme, which is designed to support start-up and early stage companies by allowing them to tap into the park’s resources and knowledge base.

In the last 12 months the Minerva Business Angel Network, which aims to assist high growth SMEs fulfil their promise, has completed nine investments raising in excess of £2m.

Midven, which specialises in funding early stage and growth companies, has co-invested in four of these investments from its Early Advantage fund.

Tim Powell, who heads up Minerva, said: “We believe this product will have major appeal within the medical industry.

“Like all good inventions, it is providing an effective solution to a common problem and it ticked all the right boxes with the investors.”

Dr Andrew Muir, investment director at Midven, said “We expect the OpClear to be launched initially in Europe in 2012 but this product has a global market opportunity.”