52North raises £3.2M to bring finger-prick cancer test to market

What's the deal? 52North, a University of Cambridge spin-out, has raised £3.2 million in an early-stage round co-led by Macmillan VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Hargreave Hale AIM VCTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The funding will support clinical validation, regulatory progression, and a UK market launch of its lead product, Neutrocheck.

What does it build? Neutrocheck is a rapid finger-prick blood test that lets chemotherapy patients be triaged remotely for neutropenic sepsis, a life-threatening complication that drives tens of thousands of emergency hospital visits a year. Research suggests about two in five of those visits could be false alarms.

The test is the first application of 52North's Aster platform, a biomarker detection technology designed to move diagnostics out of hospitals and into patients' hands.

Who's backing it? The round also drew existing investors Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Company, Cancer Research Horizons, the University of Cambridge, and OKG CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, plus a grant from Innovate UKDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Investor Partnerships programme. Total equity funding now exceeds £7.5 million.

This is the first investment led by Macmillan Ventures, the newly launched venture arm of Macmillan Cancer SupportDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Hargreave Hale AIM VCT joins as a new investor with a £1.0 million commitment — the largest from a new backer in 52North's history.

What they're saying: "This round is another powerful vote of confidence in our platform and the team behind it," said Umaima Ahmad, chief executive officer and co-founder of 52North. The funding, she added, will help bring "faster, more convenient and more personalised urgent cancer care."

Felix Litzkow, head of Macmillan Ventures and incoming board director at 52North, said the company's platform is "exactly the kind of innovation Macmillan Ventures was created to back."

The signal: A charity launching a venture arm and leading its first deal points to a wider push to fund technologies that ease strain on stretched health systems. For 52North, the raise moves a hospital-grade diagnostic closer to the patient — and to market.

Read more: oncologynewstoday.co.uk

Image credit: 52 North