A pioneering Newcastle University spin-out specialising in early-stage skin cancer testing is set to accelerate its potentially life-saving work with a £2.45m investment.
AMLo Biosciences Ltd (AMLo) was first launched at the university five years ago and has developed its first product AMBLo, a melanoma test set to go to market in the UK, US and Australia.
The innovative medical device has the potential to save thousands of lives every year as well as reassure thousands of others that their early stage skin cancer will not progress.
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At present all early stage melanomas are treated in a similar way, sometimes involving invasive surveillance diagnostics designed to identify the few high-risk melanomas at the expense of the many.
AMLo’s so called “rule-out” prognostic test can accurately identify genuinely low risk, early-stage melanomas, potentially relieving thousands of patients from the risks associated with surveillance techniques and significant anxiety.
The firm, which moved into The Biosphere building at Helix in Newcastle in 2020, said the funding round – which includes new investment from Ascension’s Life Fund and Conduit’s EIS Impact Fund, and re-investment from NorthStar Ventures, Future Planet Capital’s BIF Opportunities Fund, Esperante, and a number of Angel Investors – highlights continued confidence in the technology and leadership of the business.
CEO and co-founder Dr Marie Labus said: “This funding allows AMLo to embark on the next step of our journey with the resources to potentially relieve countless people with early stage melanoma from the anxiety and follow-up burden that should be reserved for those with higher risk disease.
“I am delighted to welcome several new investors, and especially to see such strong additional commitment from our previous partners. Our levelling up from an academic spin-out to a commercial success is critical to ensure we have the resources to further drive innovation in medical devices across our markets.”
The funding will pave the way for the completion of essential clinical studies, providing evidence needed to gain inclusion in Clinical Guidelines in key markets.
It will also support the launch of AMBLor in the UK and US this year, and in Australia in 2023.
Guy Pengelley, portfolio manager at Future Planet Capital, added: “Having first invested in AMLo in 2020, we have admired Dr Labus and her team’s commitment to delivering long term returns while improving lives ever since. Already in this relatively short period, the firm has achieved significant milestones including scientific validation and a successful pilot launch in the UK.
“We look forward to supporting them during the next stage of their expansion as the company scales up to become a commercial success, with further launch in the UK & US imminent.”
