Biosceptre International

Biosceptre International is a UK and Australia based biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a CAR-T immunotherapy for the treatment of a broad range of cancers. The company has identified a unique target, nfP2X₇, which is only found on cancer cells, but not on normal cells.

This target will be used by state-of-the art immunotherapies to specifically target and kill the cancer cells, whilst leaving normal cells unaffected. This should result in a major reduction in the unpleasant side effects currently associated with conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Biosceptre has also developed an innovative, patented technology called BRiDGE™ CAR increasing the patent portfolio to >185 granted patents in 15 families. The BRiDGE™ CAR technology enables the use of existing monoclonal antibodies in CAR-T applications, extending their therapeutic approach, as CAR-T systems are more effective at killing cancer cells than monoclonal antibodies alone. It also has the advantage that multiple different antibodies to the target cancer cells can be used in BRiDGE™ CAR leading to a greatly reduced chance of cancer cells escaping from the therapy by losing their expression of the target.

The company has a world class leadership team with the Scientific Advisory Board led by Sir Greg Winter, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2018.

Norcliffe Capital has supported Biosceptre since 2020, raising £6M in equity funding for the Company.

Afon Technology

Afon Technology has developed Glucowear – a non-invasive, real time, blood glucose monitor for the diabetic and wellness market.

Comprising a sensor using microwave signals to detect glucose signals in the blood, Glucowear is worn on the wrist just like an Apple watch or Fitbit. Glucowear is completely non-invasive. There are no needles so no pain and no delay in recording the glucose level.

Glucowear aims to enhance the take-up and daily management programs for the 537 million diabetics worldwide and the wellness market, estimated to be worth $116 billion in 2021.

The device is currently in its third clinical trial in the NHS Joint Clinical Research Centre in Swansea. Afon Technology has partnered with an AI company that, along with the company’s in-house statisticians, have developed a deep learning neural network that is providing data comparable to existing continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) but without the skin penetrating needle. The development pathway includes completion of the current NHS trial and a further trial at Profil, before achieving CE mark later in the year.

Norcliffe Capital has supported Afon Technology since its inception in 2015 raising £4.6M in equity funding for the company.

NeedleSmart Limited

NeedleSmart Limited has developed market-leading technology to sterilise and destroy hypodermic needles.  The needle is heated to 1300 degrees and compressed into a sphere, creating a non-sharp and negating the use of sharps bins. The device addresses two issues: preventing needlestick injuries and reducing disposal costs by up to 80%.

The device also collects data to facilitate a seamless record and reordering system for patients and practitioners. The handheld device for diabetics will also provide reminders and compliance data, to enable clinicians to fine tune a patient’s therapy.

Norcliffe Capital has raised £9 million of equity on behalf of NeedleSmart to develop the family of devices, achieve CE mark and FDA approval before commencing global sales.

Dxcover

Dxcover has developed a revolutionary liquid biopsy platform with unrivalled ability to detect early-stage cancer from a simple blood sample.

Worldwide, 26,000 people die from cancer each day. Early detection is critical for effective treatment, but many cancers go undetected for too long. The Dxcover platform uses infrared spectroscopy to analyse tumour and non-tumour signals, that genetic tests do not detect, to achieve leading edge sensitivity for early-stage tumours at 99% specificity.

Their simple and fast diagnostic uses a tiny blood sample in a “drop, dry, detect” system that provides results in minutes and without the need for specialist labs or technicians. Not only is Dxcover’s system faster and more sensitive in detecting early cancer, but it is also ten times cheaper than current tests based on circulating DNA.

Norcliffe Capital has supported Dxcover since 2020 and recently participated in a £7.5M investment round for the company.

Sprite IOT

Sprite IOT has developed an agnostic, plug and play system called SpriteGuard™.

SpriteGuard™ offers a range of security systems and analytics that:

• Protects the security of Wi-Fi systems for users and the Internet of Things.
• Monitors the performance of Wi-Fi networks.
• Provides data for spatial analytics including people counting.
• Monitors the environment including CO2, temperature and humidity.

Customers who are interested range from retail outlets monitoring footfall; hospitality centres and other public Wi-Fi providers concerned about security and performance; offices and schools where the environment impacts cognitive ability.

Sprite IOT’s revenue streams will come from licencing the device over a 3-to-5-year period, where customers can build a package to suit their needs. The device is competitively priced within the marketplace and the Company continues to receive sales enquiries from around the globe.

The device has recently received CE mark, enabling the company to sign its first licensing contracts, and become revenue generating. With low overheads and a licence-based sales strategy, profits can be achieved quickly.

Norcliffe Capital has supported Sprite IOT since 2019 raising £2.4 million of equity funding for the company.

SMi

SMi has developed a transformational, new, optical technology that will have far-reaching benefits in the fields of diagnosis and drug discovery. SMi’s technology is a variant of super resolution microscopy, an area which was the subject of Nobel Prizes in 2014 and 2017. SMi have been awarded two non-dilutive UK Innovation grants; £1.9M for the development of their platform for virus diagnosis in large central laboratories and £500K for use of the same platform to detect cancer at an early stage.

The system can identify and count individual virus in a sample in 50 milliseconds, with a sensitivity equivalent to the gold standard PCR tests. SMi’s technology complements Aureum’s in that is designed for large central locations.

SMi’s platform’s second application is in speeding up drug discovery where cutting a year off development can save > $100 million. During drug development, scientists need to know how a drug binds to its target, exactly where and for how long. SMi’s technology is revolutionary as it can visualise hundreds of thousands of these interactions whereas current techniques provide only average data. A good analogy is that current techniques are like trying to determine the exact composition of traffic from the noise of vehicles whereas, SMi’s technology photographs and counts every bus, car, lorry and bike.

Norcliffe Capital has supported SMi since 2021 raising £3.64 million in equity funding for the company.

Aureum Diagnostics

Medical diagnosis is about to undergo a revolution based on the next generation of cheap, mass manufacturable, electrochemical sensors like those to check blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Aureum Diagnostics is a spin-out company from the world-leading Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde and is based on the work of Professor Corrigan and his team.

The team have already demonstrated the ability of their electrochemical platform to detect COVID in 2 minutes and to detect critical markers of sepsis, where a one hour delay in diagnosis can result in a 10% increase in mortality. The platform is ideally suited for rapid diagnosis of many conditions at the point of care and for the rapid diagnosis of COVID in sites like travel hubs, schools, workplaces and at home.

Norcliffe Capital has supported Aureum Diagnostics since 2021 raising £3.51 million in equity funding for the company.