Cambridge UK medical materials company Camstent has reportedly raised £350k from business angels in Cambridge, London and Yorkshire.

Camstent is focused on building revenues through the development and licensing of proprietary polymer coatings that resist attachment of biofilms.

CamStent’s first commercial product is a compound that prevents catheter-acquired urinary tract infections. Derivative formulations will target other medical and dental applications, as well as consumer and marine products.

CamStent was founded in 2006 when a clinician looking for solution for stent thrombosis met a surface chemist with an interest in non-stick coatings at a Cambridge University lecture. Their collaboration became a company developing biofilm-resistant coatings for medical, consumer, and marine applications.

The company has been awarded successive grants to conduct market analyses and early stage research, including £10k in seed funding from Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE) and the Research Council (UK); £20k from the East of England Development Agency for market assessment of urology and cardiology applications of its polymer technology and a £100k research grant from EEDA to conduct microbiological and materials research leading towards its first commercial product.

The first product is currently in late-research phase, funded by EEDA and early stage investors. Camstent says the validation tasks will take a year to complete and include tailoring the coating to bond with catheter substrates and demonstrating effective resistance against relevant microorganisms.

It says that with a successful demonstration of the component feasibiility, the product will rapidly be brought to commercial readiness in the subsequent 24 months during which optimisation, CE Mark approval and a short clinical study will take place.

Camstent CEO is David Hampton, a biomedical research scientist and entrepreneur with global experience in medical device innovation and new business development.

Chairman is Toby Wilson Waterworth (pictured above), the experienced chartered accountant and healthcare entrepreneur.