£500,000 investment in med-tech firm makes Sense to Mercia

MED tech company Sense Biodetection has secured £500,000 in a seed funding round led by Warwickshire-based Mercia Fund Management.

The investment will allow Oxfordshire-based Sense to develop its initial product – point-of-care diagnostic tests within the infectious diseases market.  

Sense’s diagnostic tool for the infectious diseases market is able to detect the cause behind a potential infection, ensuring that appropriate treatment is administered.

As part of the investment, experienced angel investor and former CEO of the Bank of Ireland’s Financial Services Division, Jeff Warren, has been appointed chairman.

Mercia Fund Management, a subsidiary of Mercia Technologies, led the funding round alongside a group of business angel investors, including investors from Angels in MedCity and the Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION).  

Dr Harry Lamble, CEO of Sense Biodetection, said: “We are delighted to receive the backing of such a strong syndicate of investors, particularly Mercia, one of the UK’s fastest growing technology investors.  Their support will allow us to build upon the already strong foundations we have in place.”

Peter Dines, investment director and head of life sciences and bio-sciences at Mercia, said: “We are pleased to support Dr Lamble and to work alongside the management team as they scale the business.

“Both the diagnostics and point-of-care sectors are predicted to grow and, as such, we believe that start-ups capable of meeting this head on present an exciting opportunity to investors.”