Oxford University medtech spinout raises £8m in Series A+

Oxford University medtech spinout Oxford Endovascular has completed an £8m Series A+ funding round led by Parkwalk Advisors, which invested £4.2m.

Norcliffe Capital, The University of Oxford, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Vulpes Investment Management also participated in the round.

Founded in 2015, Oxford Endovascular is developing a novel approach to preventing brain haemorrhage by treating intracranial aneurysms. It said the new funding would be used to help take its OXIFLOW medical device a step closer to a First-In-Human clinical study.

Brain aneurysms affect one in 50 people and the market opportunity for devices used to treat them is approaching $3bn per year.

OXIFLOW is a flow-diverter stent used to treat intracranial aneurysms at risk of rupture. The miniature device is laser-cut from Nitinol, and unlike conventional flow-diverters, is designed to conform to the patient’s blood vessels and reduce the risk of complications associated with current treatments.

The company has made significant technological progress since its £7.5m Series A funding round in 2021 and is now entering a pivotal period in its development, as it approaches human trials. The latest funding round will enable it to accelerate development and further scale up its operations.

CEO Mike Karim said: ‘With the support of our investment partners, we are close to realising our vision of transforming brain aneurysm treatment. As we approach First-In-Human trials, our expert team is focused on working with regulators, physicians, and industry experts to bring this product to market and help tackle a condition that afflicts so many in the UK and worldwide.’

To date, the company has also received financial backing in the form of grants from Horizon Europe, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, and Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, as well as selection by the EU for its EIT-funded Covid rescue programme.

Alun Williams, investment director of Parkwalk Advisors, said: ‘We are proud to be playing a leading role in helping Oxford Endovascular unlock amazing design and engineering capabilities to tackle brain aneurysms. We are committed to backing research intensive companies that have the potential to make a difference via radical breakthroughs that will have a positive impact on society – Oxford Endovascular is the embodiment of this. This is a device we have backed from an early stage, that can improve lives, and it is demonstrative of the exceptional ideas currently spinning out of universities in the UK.’