SurgaColl Holdings Ltd announces Series A funding, opens HQ at Alderley Park
SurgaColl, a regenerative medicine company focussed on tissue repair, today announced the completion of its Series A funding, led by the GM&C Life Sciences Fund, and including investment from Julz Co, a US-based healthcare fund.
SurgaColl Technologies is a medical device company developing novel tissue regeneration products for the surgical treatment of diseases of the bone, cartilage and other human tissue. Based on technology developed at the Tissue Engineering Research Group (TERG) of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), headed by Professor Fergal O’Brien, the company aims to become a leader in the field of regenerative medical devices.
As part of the funding round, SurgaColl has established its new commercial headquarters in Alderley Park, Cheshire, one of the largest bioscience campuses in the UK with over 1m sq ft of prime lab space.
The investment will be used to grow capability in operations and clinical affairs, begin clinical studies and further develop SurgaColl’s product portfolio. The company has two products currently – the first is HydroxyColl, a collagen–based bone graft substitute with initial clinical experience in Maxillo-Facial reconstruction, which will shortly begin clinical studies in a number of new orthopaedic indications. SurgaColl is seeking approval from the FDA to market HydroxyColl in the USA. The second product is ChondroColl, a multi-layered biomaterial scaffold for the regeneration of knee cartilage, which is undergoing the European CE marking process.
William (Bill) Allan, CEO of SurgaColl, said “We are very pleased to welcome the GM&C Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures, and Julz Co as new institutional investors. Both funds are specialist life science investors and their insight and drive will be very helpful as SurgaColl begins the next phase of our growth”
Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Director of Research & Innovation and Head of the TERG in RCSI noted “We are delighted to see this investment in SurgaColl which will drive further growth of the company and will allow RCSI-developed technologies to make a great impact in helping patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders
Dr Vijay Barathan, Life Science Partner with Catapult Ventures, said “We are excited by the significant market opportunity SurgaColl is targeting and look forward to seeing the company advance its technology through its clinical trials on the back of strong early data”
Dr Zishan Haroon, Chairman and General Partner with Julz said “We were impressed by SurgaColl's anatomically and physiologically correct approach to tackling difficult cartilage and bone regrowth challenges, a significant market opportunity. We are thrilled to help SurgaColl move the assets through regulatory approvals and accompanying clinical trials.”