Oval Medical has raised £492k in an over-subscribed seed funding round to advance the development of its novel autoinjector and pre-filled syringe technology.

Founded in 2009 by Matthew Young, Oval Medical develops its proprietary syringes and autoinjectors which allow patients to inject themselves easily and safely with a minimum of training.

The round was led by The Cambridge Angels, with Cambridge Capital Group and Team Consulting – Young’s previous employer – and others also participating.

New biological drugs bring great benefits in a range of therapy areas, but traditional injectors and syringes cannot always contain these drugs with acceptable levels of contamination, safety and reliability.

Oval’s drug containment technology is particularly well suited for sensitive biological drugs, it says.

The seed funding will allow Oval Medical to advance the development of its technology and produce primary drug containers and a prototype device for validation by pharmaceutical partners.

Oval has also received proof of concept and research funding from EEDA.
Dr Phil O’Donovan, Steve Dawson, Dr Catherine Beech, Jerry Turner and Barbara Lead have joined the board following the funding round.

Dr O’Donovan, co-founder of CSR is currently chairman although the firm is seeking a chairman with a greater healthcare and medtech pedigree to guide it through the next stage of its development.

Matthew Young, the founder and CEO of Oval Medical, said “There is a real need for next-generation autoinjectors and prefilled syringes to allow the delivery of new therapeutic agents and biological drugs currently under development by pharmaceutical companies. 

“I am delighted to have raised this funding from experienced investors and to have attracted such a breadth of expertise to the board. It truly validates Oval Medical’s approach to creating devices that will provide a safe and easy method for self administration of drugs.”

Dr O’Donovan, of The Cambridge Angels, said “There is huge market value in the many new injectable biological drugs and together with significant demand from within the pharmaceutical industry for the next-generation of autoinjector.

“We believe that Oval Medical is at the forefront of the development of new devices and has the vision to become a world leader in the provision of these devices to patients and their carers.”

Oval Medical’s approach will allow patients to self inject easily and safely with a minimum of training. Pharmaceutical partners will be able to utilise this technology to contain drugs that would not otherwise be able to be delivered in prefilled syringes or autoinjectors.

• PHOTOGRAPH: Dr Phil O’Donovan, chairman of Oval Medical